Russia Fines TikTok For Anti-Kremlin Content

Videos that criticize Navalny’s jailing are growing in popularity on Russian TikTok (Wikimedia Commons).

A Russian court found the video-sharing app TikTok guilty for failing to delete content that allegedly incited minors to participate in unsanctioned rallies on April 6. The Russian Federation has demanded 2.6 million rubles ($34,000) in compensation.

The controversial content called on young people to protest in support of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. One trend shows teenage influencers dressing for the protest and bidding their parents goodbye. 

This decision comes after months of the Kremlin voicing concerns over TikTok’s increasingly political content. Earlier in April, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the Russian police force and informed authorities that they should monitor any “unacceptable” material on the platform.

Critics of the Kremlin regularly use social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, and Youtube to express opinions that state-controlled avenues would otherwise censor.

While Russia has less control over privately held social media, it has attempted to exert more influence over them since 2012 when anti-government protests raised significant concern as to the power of social media in political discord. 

Since then, the government has frequently fined social media giants for failing to comply with a growing number of restrictions. Under Russian law, the state may sanction platforms that “discriminate” against Russian media sources. Putin increased these fines this year.

TikTok has company when it comes to attracting the ire of the Kremlin. Russian authorities have recently threatened to ban Twitter for failing to erase content that attracted minors to illegal public assemblies (such as protests). While Russia did not follow through with the threat, the government slowed down the app’s speed and levied an almost $120,000 fine.