Moscow, Europe Brief News – Russia’s communication agency Roskomnadzor declared on Friday that it is restricting access to Facebook in Russia.
The Agency decided after examining 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media and informational resources by Facebook since 2020. Facebook has recently restricted its platform for Russian-Controlled media channels.
In response to that Nick Clegg, Meta President of Global Affairs tweeted “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”.
He further added, “We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express them and organise for action”.
The decision was taken after experiencing a rise in protests over the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russians have taken to the streets in massive numbers to protest the current invasion resulting in provoking thousands of arrests.
The Authorities have refused to have any plans of implementing martial law in the country but have denied ongoing threats to media outlets to publish information critical of the ongoing war effort.
The Lower house of parliament announced new legislation to impose jail terms on people who spread fake reports about the military. Right after the bill was passed, BBC declared that it will suspend journalistic operations within the country.
Several Tech platforms have started limiting services in Russia. Google-owned Youtube has banned Russian news channels including RT and Sputnik in Europe.
Facebook has blocked RT and Sputnik in the EU and stopped recommending Russia’s State-controlled media globally. Apple has also decided to stop product sales in the country until the war comes to an end.
The change means that RT and Sputnik are not visible on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram all over the EU. However, the services remain visible in the regions of the Uk.
According to the United Nation refugee agency, more than 1 million people have already fled the country to find a safer place to live until the war stops.
Russian forces are attacking from three sides to besiege the cities of Ukraine. Moscow says its only goal is to overthrow the government and capture leaders it calls neo-Nazis and threat to its security.
