CAN’T FACE THE HEAT

Facebook and Twitter Blocked in Russia

The country began throttling access last week.

Russia has begun banning Facebook and Twitter from its servers, escalating its efforts to clamp down on platforms that are fact-checking the Kremlin’s false claims over its war in Ukraine. Roskomnadzor, the government’s communications agency, said the decision to ban Facebook came after 26 cases of “discrimination against Russian media and information resources” were reported since October 2020, pointing to the platform’s recent banning of its state media outlets RT News and Sputnik. Roskomnadzor has also begun blocking access to Twitter, state media reported. “Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out,” Nick Clegg, head of global affairs for Facebook parent Meta, wrote on Twitter. “We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action.”