Russia limits access to Twitter and Facebook

Twitter and Facebook are at least partly blocked in Russia. Facebook faces throttling because Russian state media are no longer allowed to advertise on the platform. No official reason has been given for Twitter for the almost total blockage.

Facebook began fact-checking posts from Russian state media, as well as clearly labeling the posts as such. The Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor is said to have asked Facebook to stop, to which Facebook did not respond. In fact, the internet giant went on to restrict four Russian state media accounts. In response, Facebook is now experiencing a slowdown in its internet traffic in the country, Roskomnadzor said. The same goes for Facebook Messenger.

No official reason has been given for the blocking of Twitter. Perhaps it has to do with the complete ad stop in Ukraine and Russia. Netblocks, the organization that monitors barriers to internet connectivity in conflict zones, found on Saturday that Twitter is very difficult to reach via the major internet providers in the country. Many images and stories from Ukraine are shared on Twitter. Such restrictions and blocks can be circumvented with a VPN connection, but that requires a level of technical knowledge that not every user has in-house.

These are not the only measures taken in response to the invasion of Ukraine. SpaceX would supply additional Starlink terminals to the country, Google has the app of Russian state medium RT from the Ukrainian Play Store accomplishedThe West has banned a number of Russian banks from the Swift payment system, and US technology exports to Russia are being restricted. Cyber ​​attacks are also perpetrated on both sides.