Russia has just announced that access to Facebook will be limited on its territory. Accusing the social network of censorship, the Russian administration will put in place sanctions whose contours are still undefined. Moscow reacts to measures taken by Meta following the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has just taken the decision to limit access to Facebook on its territory. “In accordance with the decision of the General Prosecutor with regard to the social network Facebook, from February 25, Roskomnadzor adopts measures to limit its access”, announces the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media of Russia (Roskomnadzor), in a press release.
The Kremlin accuses the social network of censor russian media and to violate the human rights of Russian citizens. “The Public Prosecutor’s Office, in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has decided to recognize Facebook as a social network involved in the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens”says Roskomnadzor in its press release.
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Russia demands that Facebook stop censoring Russian media
The government of Vladimir Putin did not specify what the restrictions against Facebook actually consisted of. On his side, MetaFacebook’s parent company, has yet to respond to the announcement.
After Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory, Facebook took steps to ensuring the safety of citizens of Ukraine from this Thursday, February 24. The social network, regularly under fire for its management of fake news, has announced the establishment of an internal operations center to analyze the evolution of the situation in real time.
The Californian group first integrated a device that allows instantly lock an account with just one click. This measure aims to protect users against Russian abuses. Facebook offered a similar solution when the Taliban invaded Afghanistan last year.
Above all, Facebook has censored images and videos showing armed conflicts on the border. At the same time, the social network has authorized a speech by an ultra-nationalist Ukrainian militia currently confronting Russian soldiers.
These decisions have visibly angered Moscow, which is demanding that “the administration of Meta lifts the restrictions imposed by Facebook on Russian media and to explain the reason for their imposition”. Russia claims that its “requests were ignored by the owners of the social network”.