MOSCOW, Russia: Russia’s state communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has said it would require the search engines of five foreign IT companies to include a disclaimer for violating the country’s online content laws.

The measures would be imposed against TikTok, Telegram, Zoom, chat tool Discord and Pinterest, Russia announced.

In a statement, Roskomnadzor said that the measures were in response to the failure of the companies to remove “illegal” content, and would remain in place until the content is removed.

Yandex, Russia’s main search engine, already has a disclaimer for certain websites that states, “Roskomnadzor: website violates Russian law.”

In a statement, the regulator said, “Roskomnadzor has decided to apply enforcement measures, in the form of internet users being informed by search engines about the companies’ violations of
Russian legislation.”

Russia has warned sites against violating a law passed in early March that banned “discrediting” the armed forces, and has fined foreign tech firms for not deleting content it deems illegal.

Last week, Russian courts issued a fine of 2 million Roubles ($33,900) to Twitch, Amazon’s live streaming unit, as well as 11 million roubles to Telegram for hosting content concerning events in Ukraine that it claimed contained “fake” information.

In July, Russian lawmakers approved a bill that stipulates heavier penalties for foreign internet companies, which includes the search engine disclaimer.