The initiative to block pages does not come from the companies themselves, but from US government agencies, which force social networks to take such measures, including Facebook. This was stated on January 17 by REN TV head of the Center for Political Information Alexei Mukhin, speaking about the blocking of the page of the Russian delegation in Vienna.
“Increasingly, we began to see how biased the editors of Facebook and other social networks act, who catch various prohibited content in their open spaces. And for this case, quite law-abiding, even official resources are often blocked, which are somehow connected with the foreign and domestic policy of Russia, ”he told reporters.
According to him, those who are sympathetic to Russia and the Kremlin rarely stay out of blockages. Engagement destroys the very principle of the market, where there is free competition, Mukhin added.
Western countries have changed “their own democratic values so much that they are now unrecognizable,” he said.
“We are talking about censorship and selective perception of the information flow. And, for obvious reasons, we believe that this initiative does not come from the companies themselves, but from government agencies that literally force social networks, in particular Facebook, to do this, ”the expert continued.
To confirm his words, the political scientist recalled the speech of the founder of the social network Facebook Mark Zuckerberg in the US Congress. Mukhin noted that the businessman was interrogated for several hours, but he must defend his principles if he takes up business in the field of free information.
He also noted the biased attitude towards the journalist Julian Assange.
“All these factors taken together do not give our Western partners the moral right to force large companies in the market to take the actions that are being taken,” he added.
According to Mukhin, Russia has the right to correct the behavior of companies that succumb to self-censorship.
Earlier on Monday, Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov expressed the opinion that Meta should officially explain the blocking of the page of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security in the social network Facebook. He recalled that it is not companies that determine the rules of conduct in relation to Russia, but Russia determines them on the basis of laws.
It is a violation of Russian laws to arbitrarily block the pages of official delegations, he concluded.
Earlier, the head of the Russian delegation, Konstantin Gavrilov, said that on January 14, Facebook blocked the page of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security issues. He noted that representatives of the delegation published on their page on the social network only statements by the Russian leadership and the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Roskomnadzor previously demanded that Facebook restore access to the official page of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna and report on the reasons for the introduction of restrictions. The letter of the RKN notes that “these actions of the administration of the social network Facebook violate the key principles of the free distribution of information, unhindered access to it.”
On January 17, the social network complied without comment and restored access to the page of the Russian delegation.
As Artem Kiryanov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, noted in an interview with Izvestia, blocking the page of the Russian delegation on Facebook is a manifestation of censorship.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
