Facebook and Instagram banned in Russia, country's communications regulator confirms

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Meta platforms including Facebook and Instagram have been blocked by Russia, the country's communications regulator has confirmed.

The regulator, Roskomnadzor, claimed the decision was in response to restrictions of access to Russian media on the platform.It said there had been 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media by Facebook since October 2020, including restrictions in recent days on state-backed channels like RT and the RIA news agency.

The move is a major escalation in an ongoing confrontation between big tech companies and Russia, which has in recent years issued a slew of fines and hobbled services through slowdowns.

The tensions have ramped up amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation."Meta's head of global affairs Nick Clegg said the company would continue to do everything it could to restore its services."Soon millions of ordinary Russian will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out," he said, in a statement posted on Twitter.Last week, Moscow said it was partially limiting access to Facebook, a move the company said came after it refused a government request to stop the independent fact-checking of several Russian state media outlets.Twitter also said its service was being restricted for some Russian users but it is understood there is currently nothing to suggest the platform has been blocked in the country.Major tech companies have faced pressure to respond to the February 24 invasion, which has led to economic sanctions against Moscow by governments around the world.