Russia has banned Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook, according to the country’s communications authority, in reaction to limits on access to Russian media on the network.
According to Roskomnadzor, Facebook has discriminated against Russian media in 26 incidents since October 2020, including recent limitations on state-backed outlets like RT and the RIA news agency.
The action is a significant step forward in a long-running feud between global digital companies and Russia, which has levied a raft of penalties and slowed services in recent years. Tensions have risen as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, dubbed a “special operation” by Moscow.
Russia has banned access to Twitter, according to the Tass news agency. While Twitter Inc did not immediately react to a request for comment, Meta’s head of global relations, Nick Clegg, stated that the firm will do everything possible to restore its services.
In his statement posted on Twitter, he said, “Soon millions of ordinary Russian will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out.”
In a blog post, Meta said it was striving to make its services available “to the greatest extent possible,” but that it has ceased showing advertising to Russian users and prevented Russian advertisers from running advertisements anywhere else “due to the difficulties of operating in Russia at this time.”
In response to escalating censorship requests, tech firms such as Alphabet Inc’s Google have suspended advertising in Russia.
