MOSCOW, August 26 (RAPSI) – A magistrate court in Moscow on Thursday fined social networks Facebook and Twitter as well as WhatsApp messengers 36 million rubles (around $500,000) in total for breaching law requirements concerning localization of personal data of Russian users in the Russian Federation, RAPSI was told in the Tagansky District Court.

According to the court ruling, WhatsApp LLC was fined 4 million rubles, Facebook received a 15-million-ruble fine, and Twitter was fined 17 million rubles.

The messenger was found guilty of the first violation of law requirements, while the social networks were penalized for the repeated violation.

In April, Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor urged several foreign companies to submit documents confirming that they keep and process Russians’ personal data within the country.

The operator must ensure recording, systematization, keeping, updating, changing and recovery of data of Russian users with the use of databases locating within the country, according to the agency. These rules provide the sufficient level of data security, Roskomnadzor states.