Tech

Russia Said It Has Blocked Facebook

Russia’s communications regulator said it blocked Facebook because of “discrimination against Russian media and information resources."

by by Sarah Emerson

BuzzFeed News Reporter

, by Richard Nieva

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted 14 minutes ago

• TwitterTweet
• FacebookShare
• LinkCopy

{ "id": 128868349 } Dado Ruvic / Reuters { "id": 128868289 }

Facebook on Friday was blocked in Russia amid President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing military invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement issued on Friday, Roskomnadzor, the country’s communications regulator, explained the decision was made to block access to the Facebook network after at least 26 cases of “discrimination against Russian media and information resources” since October 2020. The agency highlighted Facebook’s recent restriction of Kremlin-tied media sources RT News and Sputnik News across the EU.

The move escalates an earlier restriction on Facebook by the Kremlin. Last week, Nick Clegg, president of global affairs for Facebook parent Meta, said Russia had restricted the use of the company’s services. The throttling was in response to Meta’s refusal to stop independent fact-checking of Russian state-backed media. Clegg in turn said Meta would keep its apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, available to Russians.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Developing …

• 

  Sarah Emerson is a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Oakland.

  Contact Sarah Emerson at [email protected].

  Got a confidential tip? Submit it here

• 

  Richard Nieva is a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in San Francisco.

  Contact Richard Nieva at [email protected].