Russia said Friday it would block access to Facebook, adding to the country’s growing isolation during the invasion of Ukraine and closing another avenue for Russians to learn about the war.
Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement it was cutting off access in response to Facebook’s decision this week to block Russian media outlets such as RT and Sputnik for people within the European Union.
“On March 4, 2022, it was decided to block access to the Facebook network (owned by Meta Platforms, Inc.) in the Russian Federation,” the regulator said.
It cited “26 cases of discrimination against Russian media and information resources,” actions it said are prohibited by Russian laws on the dissemination of information.
It was not immediately clear if the decision applied only to Facebook or also to other services such as Instagram and WhatsApp, all of which are owned by parent company Meta.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company does not disclose how many people in Russia use its services, but one estimate is 70 million people, or nearly half the country.
Tensions have been ratcheting up between Russia and U.S.-based tech and media companies since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on Feb. 21. Google on Thursday suspended all advertising in Russia and earlier this week blocked access to RT and Sputnik across the E.U.
European Commission President Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen has criticized “the Kremlin’s media machine,” and E.U. officials have been meeting with tech company executives to discuss restrictions.
Earlier Friday, BBC News said it would suspend reporting work in Russia after Russia’s parliament passed a law making it an offense to disseminate what it described as “fake” information about the country’s armed forces.
Russia’s communications watchdog has restricted access to the BBC Russian service as well as Voice of America, Radio Liberty and other foreign-based media outlets for spreading what it cast as false information about the conflict, the RIA state news agency reported.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
