Google opened its checkbook to pay fines levied earlier this month by the Russian government after Russia claimed the U.S. tech giant failed to follow its censorship regulations.
According to Reuters, Russia has fined Google 32 million rubles, the equivalent of $455,078, after it failed to delete content the Russian government took exception with.
Reuters also reported that Vasily Piskarev, a Russian lawmaker overseeing a commission to investigate foreign interference in the country, said the two sides expressed an interest in discussing the issues.
“Work has been carried out, as we see, however it is still very far from ideal,” Piskarev said, according to Reuters.
Google has also been battling the Russian government over a court order forcing it to unblock a YouTube channel owned by a Russian businessman who is under U.S. and European Union financial sanctions, Reuters reported.
Russia, which is ramping up its control of the internet in the country, according to Reuters, said it would fine Google a percentage of its annual profits in the country. Russia claims Google repeatedly disobeyed the government’s requests to delete banned content on its search engine and YouTube.
Google has also paid fines for other violations, Reuters reported. According to the Associated Press, Facebook and Twitter have received similar fines for alleged violations.
This is not the first time Google has been in the crosshairs of the Russian government, according to the Associated Press. The company was fined for failing to store Russian information on servers based in the country. The Associated Press reported that this was part of a government crackdown on internet freedom and having information on servers based within the country would give the government increased leverage.
Roskomnadzor, a Russian state communications watchdog, has been trying to force companies like Google, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to move the information about Russian users to servers based in Russia. Those efforts have not been successful, according to the news organization.
Globe Banner also reported that both Google and Apple, earlier this year, found themselves mired in controversy when they removed Smart Voting, a Russian voting app that allegedly provided a soapbox for opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin.