The Russian government has announced that will block some Facebook functions in the country, accusing the company that owns the social network Meta of “censoring” the Russian state mass media. The announcement comes at the dawn of the second day of the invasion of Ukraine. Roskomnadzor, the “federal supervisory service in the sphere of connection and mass communication”, asked Meta to eliminate any type of restriction, including checking the veracity of the contents, for the social posts of the official state information bodies.
Russia claims that Meta has never responded, and in the statement accuses Facebook of “violating fundamental human rights of freedom”. Moreover, Zuckerberg’s site is accused of censoring state media 23 times since October 2020. As a result, the use of Facebook will be restricted starting immediately within Russia, although it is not yet clear how. “Russian citizens use our apps to express their opinions and organize themselves to act,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs. “We want them to continue to make their voices heard, share what’s happening, and organize themselves through Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.”
Ordinary Russians are using @Meta‘s apps to express themselves and organize for action. We want them to continue to make their voices heard, share what’s happening, and organize through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. pic.twitter.com/FjTovgslCe
— Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) February 25, 2022