Australia-based Freelancer International was fined RUB 500,000 (approximately USD 8,200) by a magistrate of the judicial district of the Tagansky district of Moscow for refusing to localise the personal data of Russians, reports Kommersant. Last month it was reported that Freelancer would face a hearing over the failure of gathering personal data to comply with the duty of recording, systematising, accumulating and storing personal data of Russian citizens in databases in Russia. Freelancer International Pty Limited was found guilty under Part 8 of Art. 13.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The company disagreed with the outcome and said their servers are located in St. Petersburg. Freelancer was threatened with a fine of up to RUB 6 million but the fine was lowered with the judge stating that this was due to the company’s continuing work in Russia.