MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Twitter has removed only a third of content prohibited in Russia, Russia’s mass media watchdog said on Tuesday.
"Roscomnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media - TASS) informs that after it took measures to slow down Twitter traffic on March 10, 2021, the social network began to remove prohibited content but actually has removed only a third of prohibited content with child pornography, materials pushing children to suicide, advertising the production and use of drugs. <…> The pace of deleting such information is unsatisfactory," it said.
"Two thirds of materials harmful to children are still accessible on Twitter. Moreover, regrettably, new posts with child pornography, suicide propaganda, information about the use of drugs continue to appear, which is absolutely inadmissible. Roscomnadzor will continue to insist Twitter remove prohibited and dangerous information completely and the soonest possible," it stressed.
On March 10, Russia’s media watchdog announced it was launching an "initial slowdown" against Twitter’s loading speed in Russia because the service had ignored repeated federal requests to remove nationally prohibited content. The federal regulator vowed to continue these measures against the social giant even going as far as blocking it. Vadim Subbotin, the watchdog’s deputy head, told TASS that the service would block Twitter in Russia in a month if the latter failed to delete the proscribed information.