Russia accuses Twitter of 'violating' law, says it failed to take down banned posts

Russia communications regulator on March 1 accused social media platform Twitter of “maliciously violating” law by failing to remove banned content from its site. According to a press release, Roskomnadzor said that Twitter has failed to take down more than 2,500 banned posts in the last four years. Russia also accused the micro-blogging website of ignoring more than 28,000 requests from the officials to take action. 

In a statement, Roskomnadzor said, “Since 2017, Twitter has not deleted 2862 materials with prohibited information. In total, Roskomnadzor sent more than 28 thousand removal requests to Twitter with regard to information recognized as prohibited”. 

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The Russian watchdog said that the posts Twitter has not deleted included 2,336 posts and content related to forms of suicide and incitement of suicide. The regulator added that 352 pieces of content featuring “pornographic images of minors” and 174 posts related to the production and use of drugs also haven’t been deleted. Further, the Russian officials informed that social network and owners of online platforms can be fined under the country’s law for failing to delete illegal content and “prohibited information”. 

Roskomnadzor said that the fines can be between  800,000 and 8 million roubles (€8,957 and €89,568). Moreover, the watchdog said that in case of a second violation, fines can be increased to one-fifth of the company’s total annual revenue. 

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Social media platforms ‘failed to take action’

It is worth noting that Twitter has previously been fined small amounts for breaching Russia’s data laws. According to Euronews, in recent month, Russia has also stepped up efforts to control foreign social media platforms, especially in the wake of opposition protests for the release of Kremlin-critic Alexei Navalny. While Navalny’s allies have used social media to call on citizens to rally across the country, the Russian foreign ministry, on the other hand, has accused platforms of failing to take action on calls for “illegal” protests. 

Last month, Roskomnadzor had also asked the management of internet platforms to refrain from disseminating calls for participation in unauthorised public events. Russia’s lower house of Parliament had also passed a new law that could also restrict access to social networks in the country if they “discriminate” against Russian media. Twitter, on the other hand, had removed 100 accounts for “conducting pro-Russian propaganda” and “undermining confidence in the stability of the NATO alliance. 

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