On Russiawhere the main opponents of their president Vladimir Putin have been largely imprisoned or exiled, the war has led to a further repression of dissent and freedom of the press.
The Russian Parliament approved this Friday a law that imposes a imprisonment for up to 15 years for intentionally spreading “fake” news about the armed forces (including an invasion of Ukraine, which the regime denies), and the media response was swift.
Major television networks have begun to pull out of the country. This Friday, BBC, CNN, the Bloomberg agency, Radio Canada or the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation They have announced the temporary suspension of the work of all their journalists and support staff in Russia after the introduction of the law, considering it dangerous for them.
The Russian communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, decided block access in Russia to the social network Facebook and Twitter in response to the “censorship” of Russian media accounts amid the Kremlin’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Similarly, the authorities banned access to the websites of several foreign media outlets, including the BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Wellefor spreading what they assure from Moscow that it is “false information” about his war in the Ukraine.
Partial Facebook block
At the end of February, the agency partially restricted access to the social network Facebook, one day after Russia launched its military offensive in Ukraine to prevent the circulation of certain content. Then he explained that he was taking this measure after the American technology company restricted the official accounts of four russian media: the Zvezda military television channel, the official RIA Nóvosti agency, the Lenta portal and the Gazeta.ru newspaper.
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The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office stated that Facebook “illegally restricted the spread through Internet users of socially important information on the territory of the Russian Federation, including recorded media messages and materials, in connection with the imposition of political and economic sanctions by foreign countries with respect to Russia.”
Meta, the company that owns Facebook, has announced through its communication director, former British minister Nick Clegg, that it would try to regain its visibility in Russia, so as not to deprive its users of information in that country.