Facebook blocked in Russia as Moscow backs prison time for 'fake news'
Russia blocks Facebook and says it will impose jail terms for publishing "fake news" about the army.
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Facebook was blocked over several instances of discrimination against Russian state media
Social media giant Facebook has been blocked in Russia after several instances of its discrimination against Russian state media, Moscow's media regulator Roskomnadzor said.
Russian lawmakers had backed legislation earlier today that would impose jail time and fines for the publishing of "fake news" related to Russia's special operation in Ukraine.
A statement released by the State Duma's lower house said that the publishing of fake news stories may lead to "serious consequences" with jail time "of up to 15 years." People calling for sanctions against Russia may also be fined or jailed.
After the legislation was passed, the BBC announced the halting of its operations in Russia. Two other Russian outlets said they would stop reporting on the operation in Ukraine to "protect their journalists."
Roskomnidazor said on Friday it restricted access to the BBC and other such websites.
Meta's President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, said on Friday that Facebook will do everything it can to "restore service in Russia".
"We will continue to do everything we can to restore services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action,” Clegg said in a statement.
No compliance with Russia demand to lift restrictions on accounts: Meta
Facebook parent company Meta had said on February 25 that it refused to comply with the Russian requirement to lift restrictions on the accounts of several Russian media outlets.
"Yesterday, Russian authorities ordered us to stop the independent fact-checking and labeling of content posted on Facebook by four Russian state-owned media organizations," Meta Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said in a statement.
"We refused," he declared, explaining that as a result, Moscow announced they would be "restricting the use of our services."
Meta had introduced restrictions on the accounts of several Russian media outlets, namely Zvezda, Lenta, Gazeta, and RIA Novosti.
