Roskomnadzor, Russia's telecommunications regulator, has banned Alphabet's news aggregator service Google News and blocked access to the news.google.com domain for providing access to "unreliable information" on the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"Based on a request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, Roskomnadzor has restricted access to the Internet service News.Google in the country," the Russian Internet watchdog told Interfax.
"The mentioned U.S. Internet news resource provided access to numerous publications and materials containing unreliable, publicly significant information about the course of the special military operation in Ukraine."
This decision follows Russian President Vladimir Putin also signed into law new legislation making it illegal to spread "knowingly fake news" about the Russian army's operations in Ukraine, introducing jail terms of up to 15 years.
Earlier this month, Roskomnadzor asked Google to stop ad campaigns spreading misinformation regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine on YouTube videos.
In response, Google took action against disinformation campaigns regarding Russia's invasion and blocked YouTube channels belonging to Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in Europe at the request of the European Union.
Roskomnadzor protested YouTube's decision, demanding the immediate removal of all access restrictions to official accounts of Russian media (including RT and Sputnik) across Europe.
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook also blocked
On February 26, the telecoms regulator notified independent Russian media outlets (e.g., Ekho Moskvy, InoSMI, Mediazona, New Times, Dozhd, Svobodnaya Pressa, Krym. Realii, Novaya Gazeta, Journalist, and Lenizdatnot) not to spread false info about the shelling of Ukrainian cities, and to stop calling the "ongoing military operation" in Ukraine an attack or invasion.
Earlier this month, Russia also banned Instagram a week after blocking the Facebook and Twitter social networks, following the Prosecutor General's Office demands.
While the decision to ban Facebook was motivated by Meta booting pro-Kremlin media outlets and news agencies (e.g., RIA Novosti, Sputnik, and Russia Today) of the platform, the Instagram block was triggered by Meta deciding to allow calls for violence in some countries on Facebook and Instagram against the Russian invaders.
Roskomnadzor also blocked access to multiple foreign news outlets, some designated as foreign agents, including Voice of America, BBC, DW, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, accusing them of spreading fake news regarding the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Comments
aztony - 2 years ago
Too funny!
EndangeredPootisBird - 2 years ago
The irony
GT500 - 2 years ago
I wonder how the Russian people are reacting to having half of the Internet blocked over the war.
NickAu - 2 years ago
I bet there's a certain orange ex President that wishes he could do the same thing.
Amigo-A - 2 years ago
Right. How much can News lie? They lie absolutely.
Antiviruses Norton, Avast, Eset, Bitdefender, Panda, TM and others have joined the hackers and bandits. Do not allow to renew the license, activate, stopped submitting updates. It's a shame! What will be the result?
The Russians will massively switch to Kaspersky and Doctor Web, and Chinese 360 Security. They have already switched, who often uses a internet.
Drags - 2 years ago
But Amigo, the companies which stopped trading with Russia are not blocking access, they're just running a special operation to liberate the Russian people!
We all know that there is not a single way to go around those restrictions... oh wait, weren't VPN's on the list as well to be blocked as a special operation to keep the news "reliable"?
In relation to the AV's - Doctor Web and 360 Security are uselsess. Kaspersky is still on the top of their game, which is a shame really as they're being pushed into loosing money by the monkey leading the Kremlin.
Amigo-A - 2 years ago
Of course, VPN rules. I see that in the West there are a lot more monkeys with bombs in their hands. Most of them are also headless. Apparently, this does not bother them, because they no longer need to think. Only it is not clear with the help of what place they scream? There is no mouth. Although, it's easy to guess.
These monkeys jumping with a 'NATO' posters spelled backwards OTAN. It's really cool/modern to write your name backwards. Theorists of psychoanalysis know what this syndrome is. And these "people" position themselves above others. But it's time to heal.
Drags - 2 years ago
Please do elaborate what you mean with "monkeys with bombs in their hands". I have not seen any news of those from either side of the bias fountain.
Also I am not really sure what you mean with: "Only it is not clear with the help of what place they scream? There is no mouth. Although, it's easy to guess. " - By the way, not trying to be funny here, actually trying to understand so that I can try to understand a different point of view.
Amigo-A - 2 years ago
OK. Difficulties in translation and language barrier. The business of selling weapons to the conflicting parties brings income to those who do not value human lives. Therefore, they are headless and shout (provoke conflict) from the wrong place.
In fact, everything is much more complicated and confusing than we all think. And unraveling this tangle of problems is quite difficult.
Amigo-A - 2 years ago
They freed the Russians from their own presence on their PC. Great, we won't need to spend money on dust and dichlofos to get them out.
EndangeredPootisBird - 2 years ago
Amigo, youre a classic case of someone suffering from confirmation bias
Amigo-A - 2 years ago
Eh, I thought the same thing about you, looking at your nickname, but I did not tell you this.
EndangeredPootisBird - 2 years ago
More evidence youre suffering from conformation bias; you get triggered when called out.
To top it of, your claims are based completely on your own opinions and point of view
Amigo-A - 2 years ago
Yes, I have all my own. Does someone else think and write for you?
EndangeredPootisBird - 2 years ago
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pops.12802
Theres an difference between you and me, I read scientific articles and studies, so I know my claims are based on fact as they are based on actual data, while you get your "information" from Facebook and other social media, which are based on opinion.
Just because theres an claim on the internet that conforms to your beliefs or political ideology doesnt mean it must be true, that is just you living in a fantasy world where youre somehow special.
Amigo-A - 2 years ago
"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pops.12802
*** you get your "information" from Facebook and other social media, which are based on opinion. Just because theres an claim on the internet that conforms to your beliefs or political ideology doesnt mean it must be true, that is just you living in a fantasy world where youre somehow special.***
I haven't used social media for a long time. Especially now.
DyingCrow - 2 years ago
When we look at the bigger picture, all this is very, very concerning. Concerning beyond the scope of what we should be discussing here.