MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. Blocking of a TASS post on Facebook is a classical example of political censorship and Facebook should be called responsible for such actions, Anton Gorelkin, a member of the information policy, information technologies and communications committee of the Russian State Duma lower parliament house, said on Sunday.
According to earlier reports, Facebook blocked a TASS post about the detention of supporters of a Ukrainian radical youth group in Russia’s Voronezh as "fake" news. The post was written on the basis of an official press statement from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Investigative Committee. TASS insists that it put the information correctly and plans to request Facebook explanations on the matter. Apart from that, the agency plans to ask the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media to consider this situation. Other Russian mass media have reportedly faced such problems too.
"We see yet another classical example of political censorship. Facebook’s administration wants to say it knows better that the FSB who was detained by FSB officers. It would have been a different thing should they publish their opinion on that matter. No, they simply cancelled material of Russia’s biggest agency. As a matter of fact, our legislation provides for responsibility for censorship and hampering journalists’ activities. I think it is high time to use these norms," Gorelkin told TASS.
"No one can wipe boots on the Russia media so demonstratively," the Russian lawmaker said. "I am convinced that the root of the problem is partially in the fact that the Russian-language Facebook is moderated from Warsaw. According to some reports, mostly Ukrainian nationals, often of radical political views, are employed to moderate the Russian segment. This is a situation when a Ukrainian tail is wagging the American dog."
In February, the Russian State Duma passed a law imposing fines of up to three million rubles (40,350 US dollars) on owners of internet resources for censorship of the Russian mass media. The mass media watchdog has been authorized to block and slow traffic of those internet resources that reportedly discriminate Russian media and nationals. Impeding journalists’ activities is punishable by up to six years in prison.