Russia cites violation of the “rights and freedoms of Russian nationals.”
QUICK FACTS:
- Russian regulators on Friday blocked access to Facebook, saying it was in response to the platform’s decision to limit access to Russian media, as well as to Twitter, Forbes reports.
- Moscow initially announced that it would partially block Facebook, citing a violation of the “rights and freedoms of Russian nationals,” according to Sputnik News.
- Earlier Friday, Roskomnadzor, the Russian Service for Supervision of Communications, announced that it would begin prohibiting the country’s access to Facebook due to the social media platform’s alleged discrimination against Russian outlets, including RIA Novosti, Sputnik, and Russia Today.
- Meta spokesman Nick Clegg confirmed the social media platform’s ban in a tweet, saying it means “millions of ordinary Russians will soon find themselves cut off from reliable information.”
- But Meta had itself earlier this week restricted access to Russian state-owned media outlets such as RT and Sputnik as the Russia-Ukraine conflict reached fever pitch this last week.
WHAT ELSE TWITTER SAID:
“We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action,” Clegg said in a statement.
BACKGROUND:
- Twitter said Monday it would label and limit the reach of tweets linking to Russian state-affiliated news sources, and announced last Friday it was temporarily suspending ads in Ukraine and Russia “to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it,” Forbes notes.
- U.S.-based Big Tech giants Apple and Google have also taken action against Russian state media outlets since the invasion began last week.
