Why did Russia block Facebook?
The Russian government partially blocked access to Facebook, since February 25, after stating that the social network had censored four media outlets in that country, which was considered a violation of the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens, according to the Roskimnadzor, which is Russia’s technology and communications regulator.
The Russian regulator reproached the American giant for having restricted the official accounts on its platform of the Russian chain Zvezda, linked to the Ministry of Defense, of the public press agency Ria Novosti and of the Russian online media Lenta.ru and Gazeta. ru.
“Roskomnadzor asked the Meta administration to lift the restrictions imposed by Facebook on Russian media and to explain the reason for their imposition. But the request was ignored by the owners of the social network,” the body said.
Access to WhatsApp or Instagram is still stable in Russia, but they have some restrictions on content.
Do TikTok and Twitter work in Russia?
Putin’s government launched a law intensifying hostility towards Western services, making it a crime to spread “false” information about the invasion of Ukraine, with a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, according to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists.
This left media outlets out of coverage and in the case of TikTok and Twitter, the apps do not allow live broadcasts. On Twitter, the platform announced labels for posts containing content from Russian state-affiliated media websites such as RT and Sputnik.
Other technology companies reduced their presence in Russia during the Ukraine conflict in their advertising businesses, including Google, Twitter, and Meta. Cogent Communications, one of the world’s largest providers of internet traffic, began cutting off access to its network to some Russian service providers on Friday.
What are the most used apps in Russia?
China is one of the countries where it is more difficult to access Western sites and applications, however, it has an offer of apps and products that allow its people to communicate, such as Tencent, Alibaba and Weibo, but in the case of Russia, the country has the Yandex search engine and the VK social network, which have tens of millions of users.
However, they could have problems to continue operating. Yandex warned last week that the stock market crash of sanctions could prevent it from paying its debts, and Vladimir Kiriyenko, the CEO of VK’s parent company, is among those sanctioned by the US government.