Roskomnadzor will “partially restrict” access to Facebook due to the blocking of a number of Russian media outlets. How exactly – the department did not specify, experts believe that the speed of access to the social network will be slowed down, as happened with Twitter earlier.
Roskomnadzor announced the beginning of a partial restriction of access to the social network Facebook (owned by Meta Platforms, Inc.), according to the agency’s website.
“In accordance with the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office regarding the social network Facebook, starting from February 25, 2022, Roskomnadzor, in accordance with the law, takes measures to partially restrict access,” the message says.
As indicated by the department, this is due to the restriction on official accounts of Russian media, which is contrary to Russian law. Roskomnadzor demanded to lift restrictions on Russian media, including RIA Novosti, the Zvezda TV channel, Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru, and to explain the reason for their imposition, but the company ignored these demands.
As a result, the Prosecutor General’s Office, in agreement with the Foreign Ministry, recognized the social network as involved in the violation of fundamental rights and freedoms of a person and citizens of Russia.
RBC sent a request to Facebook and Roskomnadzor.
Roskomnadzor has been partially restricting access to Twitter for almost a year now: since March 2021, with the help of special equipment, which, according to the so-called “sovereign Runet” law, was installed on the networks of all mobile and major fixed-line operators in the country, the agency slows down the speed of access to this social network. Authorities cited as a reason that the platform did not remove content banned in Russia.
Facebook was sanctioned by the law against foreign social networks and IT resources in case of discrimination against Russians by them, which came into force at the end of 2020 and provides for a procedure by which the Prosecutor General has the right, in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to assign the status of “involved in violations of fundamental rights and freedoms” of a person and a citizen of Russia. One of the reasons for the application of this law is to limit the dissemination of “publicly significant information.” Having received a notification from the Prosecutor General, Roskomnadzor can either partially or completely block the information resource.
The authors of the law, including United Russia deputies Alexander Khinshtein and Anton Gorelkin, Communist Party deputy Alexander Yushchenko and Senator Alexei Pushkov, explained the initiative by complaints from RIA Novosti, RT and Krym-24 TV channels about restrictions from Western IT platforms.