https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/russia-limit-facebook-access-response-media-censorship-2022-02-25/ Skip to main content Skip to floating mini video Reuters home * World * Business * Legal * Markets * More Sign In Register Menu February 25, 202210:29 PM UTCLast Updated ago * Media & Telecom Russia to restrict Facebook access for 'censoring' its media By Alexander Marrow and Elizabeth Culliford * * * * * 3 minute read Printed Facebook logos are seen in this illustration taken February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Printed Facebook logos are seen in this illustration taken February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register MOSCOW, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Moscow said on Friday it was partially limiting access to Meta Platforms Inc's (FB.O) Facebook, accusing it of "censoring" Russian media, the latest in a series of steps against U.S. social media giants and announced a day after Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia has been trying to exert tighter control over the internet and big tech for years, something critics say threatens individual and corporate freedom, and is part of a wider crackdown against outspoken opponents of the Kremlin. The state communications regulator said Facebook had ignored its demands to lift restrictions on four Russian media outlets on its platform - RIA news agency, the Defence Ministry's Zvezda TV, and websites gazeta.ru and lenta.ru. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Meta's head of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said in a statement on Twitter: "Yesterday, Russian authorities ordered us to stop the independent fact-checking and labeling of content posted to Facebook by four Russian state-owned media organizations. We refused. As a result, they have announced they will be restricting the use of our services." Meta, which has long been under pressure to combat misinformation, partners with outside fact-checkers, including Reuters, which assess some content for veracity. Meta says that content rated false, altered or partly false is shown to fewer users. Clegg said "ordinary Russians" were using Meta's apps to "express themselves and organize for action" and that the company wanted them to continue to do so. Facebook, YouTube and others have a duty to ensure their social media platforms are not misused by Russia and Russia-linked entities, U.S. Senator Mark Warner said in a letter to the companies' chief executive officers. Each company has "a clear responsibility to ensure that your products are not used to facilitate human rights abuses, undermine humanitarian and emergency service responses, or advance harmful disinformation," he said. Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google said it has removed hundreds of YouTube channels and thousands of videos over the last few days for violating its policies and was continuing to look for and disrupt disinformation campaigns and hacking. Google is also evaluating what any new sanctions and export controls could mean for the company, said spokeswoman Ivy Choi. It was not immediately clear what Russia's restrictions on Facebook would involve. Last year Moscow slowed down the speed of Twitter (TWTR.N) in a punitive move. read more "In accordance with the decision of the General Prosecutor's Office, starting from Feb. 25, partial access restrictions are being imposed by Roskomnadzor on the Facebook social network," the regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement. Moscow has also increased pressure on domestic media, threatening to block reports that contain what it describes as "false information" regarding its military operation in Ukraine, where Russian missiles were pounding Kyiv and families cowered in shelters. read more Meta has already irked Russia's authorities. Moscow routinely fines the company small sums for what it says is a failure to delete illegal content quickly enough. In December, it issued a much bigger fine of 2 billion roubles ($24 million) for what it described as a repeated failure to delete content. It has also fined Google, Twitter and TikTok. read more ($1 = 82.3984 roubles) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Polina Devitt in Moscow, Elizabeth Culliford in New York and Paresh Dave in Oakland, California; editing by Marguerita Choy and Rosalba O'Brien Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. More from Reuters Technology Roundup Sign up to our tech newsletter to get the latest news and trends in the global technology industry. Sign up Daily Briefing Subscribe to our newsletter to get all the news you need to start your day. 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