Russia Blocks Facebook, Alleging ‘Discrimination’ Against Russian Media
The move comes after Russian lawmakers advanced a law that could lead to jail time for publishing ‘fake news’ 
Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday said it had blocked access to Facebook in the country. It later restricted access to Twitter, according to news agencies. Roskomnadzor said it took the action following “26 cases of discrimination against Russian media and information resources by Facebook.” It did not issue a statement explaining its action against Twitter. It said Facebook “has restricted access to accounts: the Zvezda TV channel, the RIA Novosti news agency, Sputnik, Russia Today, the Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru information resources.” Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, social media companies have taken measures to restrict access to Russian state media. On February 27, the European Union announced it was “banning Russia Today and Sputnik from broadcasting in the EU.” YouTube reportedly also blocked RT in the EU. Twitter announced Monday that it would start labeling and making it harder for users to see tweets about the invasion of Ukraine that contained information from Russian state media like RT and Sputnik. Facebook has taken similar measures. Also on Friday, Russia’s legislature advanced a new law that would make publishing “fake news” about the army a crime punishable with jail time. "If the fakes lead to serious consequences, [the legislation] threatens imprisonment of up to 15 years," the lower house of parliament said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse. The new law led the BBC to suspend activities in Russia.