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Facebook, telecom regulator to discuss account blocking of Russian users

Facebook and Instagram accounts of head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov were suspended on December 23, 2017

MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. The meeting between representatives of the Russian telecom regulator Roskomnadzor and Facebook is scheduled to early February. The regulator is going to raise the issue of Russian user accounts’ blocking, press service of the authority told TASS on Tuesday.

"The meeting is tentatively scheduled to the first decade of February. Roskomnadzor plans to include the issue related to the Facebook policy in respect of accounts of Russian users into the agenda," the press service said.

Facebook management in charge of interaction with Russia confirmed the intention to visit the country in January 2018 for talks on compliance with Russian laws, head of Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov said earlier.

Facebook and Instagram accounts of head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov were suspended on December 23, 2017. The Chechen head stated later in the day that a new social network - Mylistory - is being tested in the region and is "as good as foreign ones."

Roskomnadzor later sent an inquiry to the Facebook representative office, asking about the reasons for blocking Kadyrov’s accounts. Russian Communications Minister Nikolay Nikiforov called the blocking of Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov’s accounts an example of "double standards.".