The Kremlin claimed Facebook had discriminated against Russian media.
Amid a crackdown on demonstrators and independent media outlets, the Kremlin blocked access to Facebook and Twitter, Friday. Russian telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said the decision to block Facebook was made in response to the platform’s alleged “discrimination” against Russian media, citing 26 cases since October 2020. Nick Clegg, president of global affairs for Meta, said in a statement on Twitter, “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. 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.” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, confirmed the Twitter ban in a telegram post, and likened the move to something out of a George Orwell book. But a spokesperson for Twitter told CBS News that while the company is aware of reports of a ban, the platform does not currently see anything “significantly different” from what it has previously shared. The stripped access followed moves by Russia on Thursday to cut entry to several foreign news organizations’ websites, including the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and other media outlets. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the Kremlin has added over 5,000 websites to its “denylist,” according to the research and security firm, Top 10 VPN. While some banned websites include routine regulation, over 80 news outlets and 30 financial sites have been stripped of access since February 24th.
