Russia's media watchdog blocks Facebook - Putin makes war reporting a de facto punishable offense
Russia's media watchdog blocks Facebook - in retaliation for blocking Russian Facebook pages.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has signed an amendment to the law that de facto criminalizes reporting on the war in Ukraine from Russian soil.
The first media outlets have already reacted.
After Facebook, the short message service Twitter is now also blocked in Russia. Information from Russia's media watchdog Roskomnadzor indicates that Twitter can no longer be accessed on the territory of the giant empire, the Interfax agency reported Friday. Users of Twitter in Moscow confirmed that the network stopped working on cell phones. Roskomnadzor had already slowed down Twitter significantly before, which is why it had been difficult to watch videos there, for example. Previously, Facebook had been blocked on Friday.
The U.S. company had previously been fined several times for failing to delete information critical of the Kremlin after being ordered to do so by the authorities in Moscow. Facebook criticized the shutdown in Russia. Millions of people would be cut off from reliable information, Facebook manager Nich Cegg said on Twitter. They would also be deprived of the opportunity to contact their families and friends via the social network.
A week ago, Roskomnadzor had announced Facebook's slowdown. In recent days, Facebook had restricted access to the pages of Russian military TV channel Zvezda, state news agency Ria Novosti and state TV channel RT, among others, he said.
Russian authorities have massively tightened their crackdown on activists and critical voices in the media since the start of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. Russian media had been instructed after the invasion of Ukraine to use only official information from the Russian authorities for their reporting. The country's main independent media outlets have since been banned.
President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, signed several laws further restricting free speech in Russia - including an amendment Russia's parliament had voted for earlier in the evening. It imposes drastic penalties for spreading alleged misinformation in the media about Russia's armed forces.
There are heavy fines and imprisonment. For example, anyone who spreads "false information" about Russian forces currently fighting in the war in Ukraine could be punished with up to 15 years in prison. Under another law, people who publicly "denigrate" the Russian army can also be held responsible.
The laws also apply to foreigners. It is feared that this will severely restrict the reporting of remaining independent media in Russia. The Russian authorities had already blocked several critical stations in recent days. The well-known radio station Ekho Moskvy announced its closure. The British broadcaster BBC also no longer reports from Russia.
According to the text of the law, punishable offenses include spreading allegedly false information about Russian soldiers, discrediting the armed forces and calling for sanctions against Russia.
Media outlets in Russia have already been banned since last week from using terms such as "attack," "invasion" and "declaration of war" in their coverage of the war on Ukraine. Moscow calls the war a military "special operation."
According to the Kremlin, Putin also signed into law a law listing penalties for those who call for sanctions that restrict the rights of Russian citizens. Hundreds of people and numerous companies are already subject to sanctions by the West because of Russia's attack on Ukraine.
According to the new law, the initiators of these punitive measures will be banned from entering Russia, for example. Their financial and other assets will be seized. And they will be banned from doing business in Russia. (dpa/AFP/ank)
