Russia Fines Western Tech Companies Over Data Storage
Russia has reportedly fined Twitch, Pinterest, Airbnb, and UPS for refusing to store personal data collected from Russian users on servers located within the country.
The trio of tech companies were each fined 2 million rubles; UPS was fined 1 million rubles, Reuters reports(Opens in a new window). At current exchange rates, that means Twitch, Pinterest, and Airbnb have been fined approximately $37,000 and UPS has been fined a little over $18,000.
To put that in perspective: Pinterest reported(Opens in a new window) $2.58 billion, Airbnb reported(Opens in a new window) $6 billion, and UPS reported(Opens in a new window) $97.3 billion in revenue in 2021. (Twitch reportedly(Opens in a new window) brought in $2.6 billion.) These fines would've been inconsequential no matter what, but at these exchange rates, they're laughable.
Reuters notes that Russia can issue fines as high as 6 million rubles over data storage concerns, and the country issued a 15 million ruble ($279,000) fine to Google in May for repeatedly violating the data storage requirements. So additional fines may come these companies' way.
It could prove increasingly difficult for Russia to convince Western companies to store user data within its borders as the conflict in Ukraine, which has led companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Cisco to at least partially exit Russia, continues to make the country a global outcast.
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