Russian authorities say they will block Twitter within a month if no steps are taken to remove banned content
MOSCOW – Russian authorities said on Tuesday that they would block Twitter within a month if it does not take steps to remove banned content, a move that escalates the Russian government’s long-standing deadlock with social media platforms that have been instrumental in bolstering dissent. opinions in Russia.
Russia’s state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor announced last week that it was slowing the speed of uploading photos and videos to Twitter due to its alleged failure to remove content that encourages suicide among children and information about drugs and child pornography.
The agency said Twitter has failed to remove more than 3,000 messages with banned content, including more than 2,500 messages encouraging suicide among minors. The platform responded by highlighting its zero tolerance policy for child sexual exploitation, suicide promotion and drug sales.
On Tuesday, deputy head of Roskomnadzor Vadim Subbotin argued that Twitter still failed to meet the demands of the Russian authorities.
“Twitter is not responding appropriately to our requests, and if it continues like this, it will be blocked out of court within a month,” Subbotin told Interfax news agency. He added that Roskomnadzor is currently “not recording specific steps taken by Twitter to remove banned content.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Authorities have criticized social media platforms used this year to get tens of thousands of people across Russia into the streets to demand the release of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The wave of demonstrations was the largest in years and presented a major challenge to the Kremlin.
Authorities claimed that social media platforms had not removed calls for children to join the protests. Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the police to take more action to monitor social platforms and track down those who “trick the children into illegal and unsanctioned street actions”.
The government’s efforts to tighten control over the Internet and social media date back to 2012, when a law was passed that allows authorities to blacklist and block certain online content. Since then, a growing number of restrictions have been put in place for messaging apps, websites and social media platforms.
In 2014, authorities passed a law requiring online services to store Russian users’ personal information on servers in Russia, and they have since tried to get Facebook and Twitter to comply. Both companies have been fined repeatedly, first small amounts of about $ 50 and last year the equivalent of $ 63,000 each, for failing.
The government has repeatedly made threats to block the two social media giants, but has stopped outright banning, even though the law allows it, likely out of fear that the move would provoke too much public outrage. Only the social network LinkedIn, which was not very popular in Russia, has been banned by the authorities for not storing user data in Russia.
However, some experts have said that this time the authorities are seriously considering the possibility of a ban.
Subbotin said on Tuesday that Roskomnadzor has the necessary “technical capabilities” to block Twitter, and that the agency does not rule out other online platforms being slowed or blocked if they “violate Russian laws and fail to comply with Roskomnadzor’s demands.”
In 2018, Roskomnadzor failed to restrict access to the popular messaging app Telegram due to its refusal to transfer encryption keys used to encrypt messages. Last year, the watchdog officially withdrew a demand to block Telegram, which was widely used despite the ban, including by government agencies.
The Associated Press authors Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.