As it seeks to control the narrative about its war in Ukraine, Russia blocked access to Facebook today.
The Internet regulator Roskomnadzor justified its decision by alleged discriminations against Russian media and information resources. No fewer than 26 such cases have been recorded since October 2020, according to Roskomnadzor.
The most recent cases concerned the Facebook accounts of the Zvezda military TV channel, the news agency RIA Novosti news agency as well as international state-owned media Sputnik and Russia Today.
The regulator cites a Russian law on the “Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation” which protects the principles of “free dissemination of information and unhindered access of Russian users to Russian media on foreign Internet platforms.”
In Twitter statement, Meta’s head of global affairs Nick Clegg said the company would “continue to do everything [it could] to restore [its] service so that they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action.”
Almost simultaneously, the authorities “restricted access” to Twitter and blocked a variety of foreign information sources — from the BBC, to Deutsche Welle, to Voice of America and RFE/RL — for allegedly spreading fake news on the war.
Meanwhile President Putin signed a law threatening imprisonment of up to 15 years for publishing “fake news” about the Russian army. People calling for sanctions against Russia may also be fined or jailed.
As a result, the BBC, Bloomberg and CNN announced this Friday they will stop operations in Russia.
“This legislation appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism. It leaves us no other choice than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development,” BBC Director-General Tim Davie tweeted.
For the same reason, TV Rain, one of Russia’s last remaining independent media outlets, announced Thursday it “temporarily” ceases its activity. Novaya Gazeta, whose chief editor was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, decided it will no longer cover the war in Ukraine.
YouTube and Telegram, which host a variety of political channels, are now among the last independent sources of information — true or false — to be accessible from Russia.
YouTube’s days in the country seem numbered, however, as the US video hosting service has a long history of disputes with the Russian authorities. Most recently Google blocked Russia Today and Sputnik across Europe and suspended monetization for a variety of Russian state media channels.
Yesterday Rozkomnadzor demanded that YouTube stop displaying video ads it described as “false political information” about Ukraine.
