Putin says American social media giants are competing with governments

LONDON – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday criticized the growing influence of US social media giants, saying their impact on society means they can now compete with elected governments.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum for the first time since 2009, Putin discussed a wide variety of topics, including the coronavirus pandemic, his recent phone call with President Joe Biden, and global economic inequality.

Putin made no mention of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who was arrested as soon as he returned to Russia earlier this month after being treated in Germany after nerve poisoning. Putin denies Navalny’s claim that the Russian president ordered the attempt on his life.

“Digital giants are playing an increasingly important role in society,” Putin said via video conference, a translation said.

“We’re talking about economic giants, aren’t we? In certain areas they compete with states and their audiences can include millions upon millions of users,” he said, referring to recent events in US politics.

“Here is the question, how well does this monopolism correlate with the public good?”

Putin did not mention any specific technology companies.

His comments on recent political events in the US supposedly referred to social media companies such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter banning former President Donald Trump after his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6.

More recently, Google has said Alphabet will block its search engine from users in Australia if the government continues plans to introduce new code that would force the company and Facebook to pay media companies for the right to use their content. .

The dispute is another in the growing efforts to regulate Big Tech.

Tense relations between Russia and the US have deteriorated as a result of a massive cyber attack on federal agencies, interference in US elections and Navalny’s arrest.

In April 2019, Special Advisor Robert Mueller, in his report on Russian interference, found that the Russian Internet Research Agency reached millions of US users on social media ahead of the 2016 presidential election and used its false statements to influence voters and even drive them to fabricated rallies .

Putin’s comments at the Davos Agenda summit come as Western government officials weigh the possibility of new sanctions against Moscow over Navalny’s arrest.

In a challenging challenge to Putin, mass demonstrations in more than 100 cities this weekend saw tens of thousands of people protesting the opposition leader’s detention.

Navalny’s allies have called for more protests in the coming days to maintain pressure on the Kremlin.

Foreign ministers of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as the High Representative of the European Union, have condemned Navalny’s “politically motivated” arrest.

The group also called for the immediate and unconditional release of Navalny and expressed “deep concern about the detention of thousands of protesters and journalists”.

In response to calls for Navalny’s urgent release from detention, the Kremlin has previously said that Navalny’s case has received “artificial” resonance in the West.

Biden spoke with Putin for the first time since the former’s inauguration earlier this month on Tuesday. He raised a number of concerns with the Russian president, including the poisoning of Navalny.

Biden warned Putin that the US “will act decisively in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies,” a White House statement said.

Widely regarded as Putin’s most prominent and determined critic, Navalny was arrested by Russian authorities on January 17 when his flight from Berlin landed at an airport in Moscow.

He was subsequently sentenced to 30 days in prison until February 15 and faces years of imprisonment.

It was the first time Navalny had returned to the country since he was poisoned last summer.

In his speech, Putin also warned that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing global problems and imbalances, and that these could worsen to a point where there is a “all against all” struggle.