A court in Moscow has fined Twitter as part of the Russian authorities’ clampdown on social media amid popular dissent over the detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The social media giant was today found guilty on three counts of violating regulations, and ordered to pay 8.9 million rubles (about €99,000) for not taking down content that the authorities claimed incited minors to take part in demonstrations.
It came two weeks after Russia’s state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor began disrupting Twitter’s operations in the country. On March 16, the agency threatened to block Twitter outright within 30 days if it didn’t take steps to remove banned content. Twitter has not yet commented on today’s ruling.
In recent months the Russian government has repeatedly castigated Twitter, Google, Facebook, TikTok and Telegram for allegedly failing to delete posts urging young people to take part in banned protests.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Russia in January to demand the release of Alexei Navalny, who remains behind bars despite international condemnation.
Social media platforms have been instrumental in their organisation, the largest in years and a major challenge to the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged police to act more to monitor social platforms and to track down those who “draw the children into illegal and unsanctioned street actions.”
Controlling online information
Tanya Lokot, an associate professor at Dublin City University’s School of Communications, says Russia has been threatening social media for a while, but authorities are now ready, willing and able to take concrete action.
“They started issuing fines, threatening court sentences, and now they’re also throttling Twitter, so Twitter is a bit slower to load currently in Russia,” she told Cuffnews.
“Russia has built quite an infrastructure in terms of trying to preserve what they call their digital or internet sovereignty. So currently they do have the technical capability to block platforms,” she added.
Over the years, Russian authorities have taken a comprehensive approach to “trying to control every sphere of online expression,” she said, citing laws that mandate registration of popular bloggers and require companies to store Russian users’ data on servers inside Russia.
While shutting down popular Western social media platforms in Russia might be feasible, it may not be effective in silencing opposition in the country, Lokot cautioned.
She noted that ever since Telegram was blocked in 2018, many Russians had learned how to use virtual private networks (VPN) to mask their IP address and access blocked content.
“People would still find ways to connect and mobilise and to come out to the streets,” Lokot said.
Watch the interview in the video player above.