On Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ: FB) and the messaging app Telegram find have faced Russia’s wrath over banned content. Russian authorities imposed a heavy fine on Facebook and Telegram, accusing the two of negligence in pulling down banned content. Most analysts consider the latest move to be part of the fast-growing government attempts to establish control on what transpires in most of the social media platforms amid political dissent.
Government’s intervention
The crackdown swung into effect after Russian authorities raised the alarm about how social media platforms support political unrest. These authorities said that the accused parties contributed to the sad incidence where tens of thousands of people went out to the streets in Russia to push for the release of President Vladimir Putin’s most well-known critic Alexei Navalny. The President’s critic happens to be the Russian opposition leader who was jailed sometime back. The Kremlin has been going through a rough patch because of the waves of demonstrations.
Top officials believe that it was unprofessional for the accused parties to ignore the call to pull down the banned content. The leaders condemned the act of encouraging children to join protests either directly or indirectly.
Putin calls out for the police force to be more vigilant
President Putin has called out to the police force, asking it to keep monitoring the activities transpiring in most of the social media platforms operating in the country. Putin wants the police to focus more on tracking any person or company that draws children to participate in the “illegal and unsanctioned street actions.”
The Russian government has made several attempts to control the internet and social media over the years. The first time it embarked on the exercise was back in 2012, and the efforts have continued ever since. The government gave the authorities the power to block or blacklist inappropriate online content.
