Meta&nbsp;Platforms Inc's WhatsApp messenger and Snapchat owner Snap Inc have been sued by a Russian court for alleged failure to store local users’ data within the Russian territory.

On Thursday, Moscow's Tagansky District Court fined WhatsApp million rubles ($300,000), and Snapchat 1 million rubles ($16,600), according to TASS news agency.

This is the second time WhatsApp has been punished for failing to comply with the data localisation norms. Last August, the Meta-owned messaging platform was fined 4 mln rubles ($54,040) for refusal to localise Russian users’ data.

Under the Russian law on personal data, Russian and foreign companies are obliged to store personal information of Russian citizens on the country’s territory only, even if they are not physically present in Russia as their operations are aimed at the country’s territory.

The latest punitive action comes at a time when Russia has restricted access to Meta's Facebook and Instagram, as well as Twitter, after Moscow’s invasion on Ukraine began.

Critics said the move was part of Russia’s plan to exert greater control over information flows and counter the narrative thrown by the western media.

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has also been blocked in Russia for years after a court found it violated the local data storage rule, which was passed in 2015.

Other tech giants like Apple was also fined 2 million rubles (about $34,000) earlier this month over the data storage issue. Airbnb,&nbsp;Pinterest&nbsp;and the video streaming service Twitch were fined the same amount last month.

In March, Instagram and Facebook were banned in Russia after their parent company — Meta — was labelled “extremist” by the authorities.&nbsp;

These actions have bolstered Russia to develop and promote homegrown applications as an alternative to the US-based social media platforms.

The government has been providing income tax breaks and preferential loans for homegrown IT companies, and employees can get their military service deferred. Politicians are also encouraging users to switch to domestic providers.

According to Reuters, RuTube was downloaded about 1.4 million times on Russia’s App Store and&nbsp;Google&nbsp;Play in the 40 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, up more than 2,000 per cent on the previous period, according to data analytics firm Sensor Tower.

A Facebook-like site, VKontakte, which already had a massive presence in the Russian market, saw a 14 per cent jump in active users in March, with social networks Telegram and OK also experiencing 23 per cent and 6 per cent growth respectively, according&nbsp;to monitor Brand Analytics.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Meta Platforms Inc's WhatsApp messenger and Snapchat owner Snap Inc have been sued by a Russian court for alleged failure to store local users’ data within the Russian territory.

Meta Platforms Inc's WhatsApp messenger and Snapchat owner Snap Inc have been sued by a Russian court for alleged failure to store local users’ data within the Russian territory. On Thursday, Moscow's Tagansky District Court fined WhatsApp million rubles ($300,000), and Snapchat 1 million rubles ($16,600), according to TASS news agency. This is the second time WhatsApp has been punished for failing to comply with the data localisation norms. Last August, the Meta-owned messaging platform was fined 4 mln rubles ($54,040) for refusal to localise Russian users’ data. Under the Russian law on personal data, Russian and foreign companies are obliged to store personal information of Russian citizens on the country’s territory only, even if they are not physically present in Russia as their operations are aimed at the country’s territory. The latest punitive action comes at a time when Russia has restricted access to Meta's Facebook and Instagram, as well as Twitter, after Moscow’s invasion on Ukraine began. Critics said the move was part of Russia’s plan to exert greater control over information flows and counter the narrative thrown by the western media. Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has also been blocked in Russia for years after a court found it violated the local data storage rule, which was passed in 2015. Other tech giants like Apple was also fined 2 million rubles (about $34,000) earlier this month over the data storage issue. Airbnb, Pinterest and the video streaming service Twitch were fined the same amount last month. In March, Instagram and Facebook were banned in Russia after their parent company — Meta — was labelled “extremist” by the authorities. These actions have bolstered Russia to develop and promote homegrown applications as an alternative to the US-based social media platforms. The government has been providing income tax breaks and preferential loans for homegrown IT companies, and employees can get their military service deferred. Politicians are also encouraging users to switch to domestic providers. According to Reuters, RuTube was downloaded about 1.4 million times on Russia’s App Store and Google Play in the 40 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, up more than 2,000 per cent on the previous period, according to data analytics firm Sensor Tower. A Facebook-like site, VKontakte, which already had a massive presence in the Russian market, saw a 14 per cent jump in active users in March, with social networks Telegram and OK also experiencing 23 per cent and 6 per cent growth respectively, according to monitor Brand Analytics. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Russian court penalises WhatsApp, Snapchat over data law violations

The European Union has released a new set of rules with some hefty fines, it bans target advertising that is aimed at children. Data such as religion, gender, race and political opinions will have to be tackled with sensitivity. The act also stop people from giving their personal data to companies online

EU slams tech giants for not doing enough, releases new rules to tackle illegal content

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Russian court penalises WhatsApp, Snapchat over data law violations

EU slams tech giants for not doing enough, releases new rules to tackle illegal content