The communications regulator Russia reported this Friday that he blocked the social network Facebookfrom Meta Platforms Inc.in response to what he said were local media access restrictions on his platform.
Roskomnadzor reported that there had been 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media outlets on Facebook since October 2020, with access restricted to Russian state-backed channels like RT and the RIA agency.
It is a major escalation in a confrontation between big tech companies and Russia, which has issued a host of fines in recent years and fueled tensions with the recent invasion of Ukraine.
Meta’s head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said the company would continue to do everything possible to restore its services. “Soon, millions of ordinary Russians will be deprived of reliable information,” he explained on Twitter.
The Tass news agency reported later on Friday that the Russian regulator also restricted access to Twitter. Last week, Moscow admitted that it was partially limiting access to platforms like Facebook.
JR