Two of Russia’s largest search engines have removed results for Facebook, Instagram and several independent news websites after authorities blocked or declared them “extremist.”
Meduza, Mediazona, Deutsche Welle, Current Time, Kholod, The Insider and other news outlets that have been providing independent coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were also removed from search results.
Yandex and VK-owned Mail.ru said Monday they have stopped giving out the search results in line with Russian legislation. “Some links are not available in the search results due to the requirements of Russian legislation,” a disclaimer states on top of the Yandex page.
A Russian court banned Facebook and Instagram as “extremist” in March, leaving WhatsApp the only accessible subsidiary of the U.S. tech giant Meta. Access to Twitter has also been restricted.
Russian search engines remove “extremist” Instagram, Facebook, independent media resultsRead More
