Twitter continues to load slower on Russian mobile devices

Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzot continues to slow down Twitter’s speed on mobile devices until all “deemed illegal content” is removed from the platform. Twitter has not yet responded to the regulator’s ruling.

Since March, telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor has punished Twitter for “posts containing child pornography, information about drug abuse or calls for minors to commit suicide”. Videos and photos load noticeably slower on mobile devices. In May, Roskomnadzor relaxed speed limits on fixed networks.

The regulator says that Twitter, which has been fined $453,000, has repeatedly ignored requests to remove banned material since 2014. At the request of Roskomnadzor, Twitter has now removed more than 90 percent of the posts labeled as illegal by the regulator. “The condition for lifting the speed limit on mobile devices is that Twitter removes all messages that we have banned,” the telecom watchdog told Reuters.

Twitter has not yet responded substantively to Roskomnadzor’s statement. The company denies allowing its platform to be used to promote illegal behavior. The social media platform says it has a zero-tolerance policy for the sexual exploitation of children and prohibits promoting suicide or self-harm.

The Russian authorities have taken stricter action against tech companies in the past year, for example by imposing small fines for content violations. At the same time, they require foreign companies to have a regional office in Russia and to keep the personal data of Russians on Russian territory.