Russia threatens Facebook with fines for blocking some media outlets' content

Russia on Sunday hit back at US social media behemoth Facebook, threatening to impose hefty fines if the tech company doesn't restore access to content posted by certain media outlets. According to Radio Liberty, the Russian mass media watchdog accused Facebook of violating citizens’ rights and demanded that the company restore access to blocked content immediately. Facebook removed content belonging to certain Russian media outlets after they reported about the arrest of three alleged Ukrainian nationalists. 

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According to reports, a Ukrainian fact-check organisation that works with Facebook found those articles to be in violation of the platform’s fake news policy. The organisation named StopFake discovered that the arrested individuals, which the news articles reported as Ukrainian nationals belonging to a far-right group, were allegedly Russians. As per Radio Liberty, StopFake reported that the three individuals aged 18, 19, and 33 belong to a Russian organisation and were arrested for stirring up racial animosity in a city that lies near the Ukrainian border.

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'Violation of citizens' rights' 

Russian politicians, including the speaker of the parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, criticised Facebook for violating citizens' basic rights by blocking those articles. Volodin also dubbed Facebook's action as a breach of national legislation. Russia recently introduced laws to regulate social media companies, which include imposing fines if they restrict access to content or do not delete content deemed threat by the state. 

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Russia's involvement in Ukraine has often received backing from state media outlets, who defend Kremlin's action in the former Soviet territory. In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea, a part of Ukraine, and is allegedly supporting separatists in the northern part of the country. 

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