Russia Bans Facebook In Retaliation To Censorship
Darian Douraghy
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Russia blocked access to Facebook today, reports have revealed. The decision was made after the social media company had enacted restrictions on various Russian media outlets.
According to a March 4th statement by the Russian government, restricted pages included the Zvezda TV channel, the RIA Novosti news agency, Sputnik, Russia Today, the Lenta.ru, and Gazeta.ru.
Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor further claimed that Facebook violated existing federal laws “on measures to influence persons involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, the rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation.”
It is apparent that Facebook and its parent company known as ‘Meta’ are deeply troubled by the news; Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg complained online that Facebook’s banning will limit the free flow of information. Clegg, however, did not address Facebook’s own efforts to limit the reach of information within their own platform.
“Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out,” Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg said in a statement shared on Twitter. “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.”
Facebook has made multiple statements on the matter since near the beginning of the conflict, proudly touting their new feature which seeks to protect the people of Ukraine by granting users the power “to lock their Facebook profile, removing the ability to view and search friends lists, and additional tools on Messenger.”
The banning of social media platforms by world leaders in response to platform interference is not without precedent; it was just this past summer when the president of Nigeria blocked Twitter from the nation’s internet services after they had censored his post.
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