Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor has filed lawsuits against some of the world’s largest video game companies for refusing to store the personal data of Russian gamers on servers inside the country, the Kommersant business newspaper reported Thursday.
A Moscow arbitration court was said to have fined four companies 2 million rubles ($26,700) each last month, the law firm Semenov & Pevzner told Kommersant. The companies include Electronic Arts, which publishes the popular Sims and Battlefield franchises, as well as Take-Two Interactive Software, whose portfolio includes games like Grand Theft Auto and Civilization.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the companies had paid the fines. However, intellectual property lawyers said multinational corporations often ignore Russian court rulings.
Three other companies, including Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, will see lawsuits against them heard in court later this month. They could face up to 6 million rubles ($80,300) in fines for violating personal data laws in Russia, which restrict the use of servers abroad when collecting and storing personal data, including payment details, emails and IP addresses.
An anonymous source in the gaming industry told Kommersant that the lawsuits against major video game companies could set the stage for a broader campaign against foreign developers.
Roskomnadzor told Kommersant that it had not received court orders to restrict access to any foreign-made video games since it filed its lawsuits against the companies. The agency denied that it has plans to block foreign-made games in Russia.
