Google Can’t Shake Off Legal Challenges From Sanction-Hit Russia (1)

When YouTube blocked three Russian channels it said were controlled by sanctioned supporters of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the US video company thought any disputes would be resolved in courts in California and England.

It couldn’t have been more wrong. Almost two years on — and nine countries later — the Russian media firms behind those channels turned to the South African courts in the latest bid to enforce a Moscow judge’s decision to issue fines for Google, YouTube’s parent company, which now run into billions of dollars.

The case is a sign of how multinational companies are finding themselves unexpectedly exposed ...