Russia’s internet censor agency Roskomnadzor said on Friday it plans to block access to Facebook, cutting off a significant source of information about the Ukraine invasion as the conflict continues.
The plans were announced by the agency in a Telegram postIn which it criticised Meta parent company for violating laws and blocking access to Russian media through its platform. The post did not specify whether this ban would affect the company’s other services, including Instagram and WhatsApp. Russia joins China (and North Korea) as countries that have banned Facebook.
The agency stated that 26 bans have been placed on Russian media and information sources from Facebook since October 2020. According to it, Facebook had restricted access to Zvezda TV, the RIA Novosti news agent, Sputnik and Gazeta.ru.
“The above restrictions are prohibited by Federal Law No. 272-FZ ‘on measures of influence on persons involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation’, adopted, among other things, to prevent violations of key principles free dissemination of information and unhindered access of Russian users to Russian media on foreign Internet platforms,”Roskomnadzor wrote Telegram
A Meta rep referred to a statement on Twitter from the company’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg and declined to comment further.
As Russian operations and media are restricted following the invasion in Ukraine, this ban is effective immediately. The tech giants, which include Snap and TikTok to Google and Twitter, as well as Snap and Twitter, have stopped advertising sales and blocked state-backed news organizations accessing their accounts.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has decided to stop all online advertising in Russia. This includes search, YouTube, and Display services. Twitter and Snap have also paused their ad sales in Russia and neighboring markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Snap announced earlier this week that it had stopped selling to Russian and Belarusian entities. However, the company said that the move would not affect its business and that it will continue to operate the app there.
Roskomnadzor previously stated that it had sent Meta numerous letters requesting that Meta remove Russian media restrictions. It demanded that the company lift restrictions on RT, Sputnik, and other state-owned media outlets in Russia.