Google Yet to Comply with Indonesia’s Licensing Order

On Wednesday, Google parent Alphabet Inc. was among the last remaining platforms yet to comply with Indonesia’s new licensing rules. Accordingly, the deadline loomed before midnight on Wednesday, which may temporarily block several services in the country.

Indonesia is among the leading markets in terms of user numbers for a host of social media companies. The country is home to about 10.00 million young, tech-savvy population.

Companies like Google must sign up with the required registration under the rules released in late 2020. The legislation gives authorities broad powers to compel platforms to disclose data of specific users. In addition, this order could allow officials to take down content deemed unlawful within four hours if urgent and 24 hours if not.

Subsequently, the communications ministry also stated that they would fine companies that would not comply with the rules. However, the ministry did not say when exactly the block and fine would take effect. At the same time, analysts cited that it will be unlikely to be immediate.

Twitter Inc. was among the latest companies that have signed up to the new rules as of Wednesday afternoon. The microblogging firm stated that it had taken appropriate steps to comply with the latest directives. Meanwhile, search giant Google still had not registered.

Furthermore, Meta Platforms Inc’s units Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp filed on Tuesday. Similarly, other services like Spotify, Netflix, and ByteDance’s TikTok have also signed up.

Russia hits Google with $375M fine

In other news, Russia fined Google with a $373.00 million fine on Monday. The case highlighted a repeated failure to remove fake news content about the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow’s watchdog asserted that the online platform did not take down information that discredited the country’s military.

Moreover, the Kremlin asserted that YouTube permitted content promoting extremist views, calling for children to participate in unauthorized protests.

Eventually, the fine accounts for a share of Google’s annual turnover in Russia. Similarly, the firm handed a similar $131.45 million penalty late last year. Furthermore, Google’s Russian unit’s bank account recently filed for bankruptcy, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors.