A court in the Russian capital Moscow has sentenced a student to 10 days in jail for his Wi-Fi name. The student renamed his Wi-Fi network with a pro-Kyiv slogan during the military action in Ukraine, a report said.
As per the Ria-Novosti news agency, the student at Moscow State University replaced the name of the network from his Wi-Fi router with Slava Ukraini (“Glory to Ukraine”), which is a rallying cry of Ukraine forces.
The court found him guilty of a “public demonstration of Nazi symbolics... or symbols of extremist organisations,” the publication said, adding that a police officer had reported the network name to authorities.
The report noted that since the Ukraine-Russia war, which started in February 2022, officials have issued thousands of prison terms or fines against people publicly criticising the action or showing support for Ukrainian forces.
Fine on Google, Facebook in RussiaAmid the war, Russia has imposed fines on tech companies including Google, YouTube, Meta, TikTok and Telegram for ‘failure to delete content Russia deems illegal’. The country blocked X (formerly Twitter) and Meta-owned Facebook as well as Instagram in the country. Google shut its business in Russia after Russian troops entered into Ukraine
Moscow had also imposed multiple fines on Google for a number of reasons, including failing to store personal data on its Russian users. In late 2023, a Russian court imposed a fine against Google of 4.6 billion roubles ($50.4 million).
The country also labelled Meta as “extremist” in 2022 and a court fined Meta Platforms $27.15 million last year for failing to remove 2,000 pieces that violate Russian laws.
According to a previous report by news agency Reuters, the companies are no longer registered as debtors in the state bailiffs' database, which means their fines may have been settled. The database includes X (formerly Twitter) and Twitch.