Russia blocks access to Facebook and Twitter


The war in Ukraine continues, and so does the battle for access to information: Russian authorities have now blocked access to Facebook and Twitter in the country, citing discrimination against Russian media and sources as the reason for the action
The move announced by Roskomnadzor (Russia’s state communications regulator), via the Guardian and others, comes after US tech companies began restricting access to Russian state-owned news services in an attempt to control the flow of misinformation.
On Friday the Russian government also passed a bill to outlaw the spreading of “fake news” – anything going against its official war narrative. Agencies including the BBC have since suspended operations in Russia to protect their journalists from being arrested.
Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs at Meta, said the ban meant that “millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information” and “silenced from speaking out”. Work will continue to restore Facebook access in Russia, Clegg said.
Changing situation
The situation in Ukraine and the events around it continue to change hour by hour. In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine we’ve seen a whole host of technology companies put a hold on selling their products in Russia.
Russians are finding themselves unable to advertise to the wider world as well. After being banned in the country, Facebook is no longer running ads from Russian advertisers or ads that target people in Russia. Google, Snapchat and Twitter have made similar moves.
Before the latest move, access to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter was already restricted – now, it appears they’ve been blocked completely. Other platforms such as YouTube and TikTok could soon follow as the war continues.
Russia has always had some of the tightest internet controls in the world at the government level, and now its people have a dwindling number of independent news sources outside of state control that they can turn to.
Audio player loading… The war in Ukraine continues, and so does the battle for access to information: Russian authorities have now blocked access to Facebook and Twitter in the country, citing discrimination against Russian media and sources as the reason for the action The move announced by Roskomnadzor (Russia’s state…
Recent Posts
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010