Censorship? Russian regulator wants to fine Twitter for “violating laws”
Twitter is in the crosshairs of Roskomnadzor, Russia's regulatory body. The reason is that it failed to comply with the government to remove certain types of content from the social network and, consequently, violate the country's laws. According to a report by Reuters agency, the platform would have to delete 2.862 posts made since 2017 with material related to suicide, child pornography and drugs, but it did not comply with the order.
This isn’t the first time Twitter has faced trouble for violating Russian laws. Last year, the platform was fined for violating data laws, but the penalty was deemed minor. The idea now is to impose a heavy penalty on Twitter if it continues to refuse to delete material that violates Russian laws.
The bill to increase the punishment for such violations was approved in December last year by the Russian lower house of parliament. In addition to fines, it allows the country to restrict access to US social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and others, if there is “discrimination against Russia”.
Tool of the opposition?
Twitter is one of the most used social networks by one of the biggest critics of the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny. He often uses the platform to criticize authorities and announce protests against the Putin government. This recurrence has already led Russia to apply sanctions to other social networks, not just Twitter, for “inciting young people to violate the laws” of the country.
In January this year, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and even YouTube were fined for allegedly “inciting young people to demonstrate in support of Navalny”. President Vladimir Putin accused the social networks of be influenced by the United States and now “compete with governments.” Twitter was also fined in January for refusing to host a government server containing data on Russian citizens on its territory.
Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. 360 Gadgets
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