MOSCOW (AP) – Russian authorities said on Tuesday that they would block Twitter in a month if it did not take steps to remove the banned content, a measure that increases the Russian government’s prolonged stalemate with social media platforms that have played a important role in amplifying dissent in Russia.
Russian state communications watchman Roskomnadzor announced last week it was slowing down the upload of photos and videos on Twitter due to the alleged failure to remove content encouraging child suicide and information about drugs and child pornography.
The agency said Twitter was unable to remove more than 3,000 posts with banned content, including more than 2,500 posts encouraging the suicide of minors. The platform responded by emphasizing its zero-tolerance policy for child sexual exploitation, promoting suicide and selling drugs.
On Tuesday, Roskomnadzor deputy chief Vadim Subbotin argued that Twitter was still not meeting the requirements of Russian authorities.
“Twitter does not respond to our requests properly and, if things go on like this, in a month it will be blocked, out of court,” Subbotin told the Interfax news agency. He added that Roskomnadzor at the moment “is not recording specific steps by Twitter to remove prohibited content”.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment via email.
Authorities criticized the social media platforms that were used to bring tens of thousands of people to the streets across Russia this year to demand the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The wave of demonstrations was the biggest in years and represented a major challenge for the Kremlin.
Authorities claimed that social media platforms failed to remove calls for children to participate in the protests. Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the police to do more to monitor social platforms and track those who “lure children into illegal and unsanctioned street actions”.
Government efforts to increase control over the internet and social media date back to 2012, when a law was adopted that allows authorities to blacklist and block certain online content. Since then, an increasing number of restrictions directed at messaging applications, websites and social media platforms have been introduced.
In 2014, authorities adopted a law requiring online services to store personal data of Russian users on servers in Russia and have since tried to get Facebook and Twitter to comply with it. Both companies were fined several times, first in small amounts of about $ 50 and last year the equivalent of $ 63,000 each, for failing to comply.
The government has repeatedly issued threats to block the two social media giants, but has avoided direct bans, although the law allows it, probably fearing that the action would generate too much public outrage. Only the social network LinkedIn, which was not very popular in Russia, was banned by the authorities for not storing user data in Russia.
However, some experts said the authorities may be seriously considering the possibility of bans this time around.
Subbotin said on Tuesday that Roskomnadzor has the “technical resources” needed to block Twitter, and that the agency does not rule out slowing down or blocking other online platforms if they “violate Russian law and fail to comply with Roskomnadzor’s requirements”.
In 2018, Roskomnadzor failed to restrict access to the popular Telegram messaging app due to his refusal to hand over the encryption keys used to scramble messages. Last year, the agency officially withdrew demands to block Telegram, which has been widely used despite the ban, including by government institutions.
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Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.