Russia slows down Twitter over ‘banned content’
Should Twitter continue to host the prohibited content, the regulator warned that it could move to block the site entirely. For now, though, agency officials said they would throttle Twitter access on all mobile devices, and on half of the users who log on through their computers.
In a TV appearance Wednesday, the deputy chief of Roskomnadzor, Vadim Subbotin, said that Twitter stands out as the only social network that has “openly ignored the Russian authorities’ demand to remove the banned content.”
Twitter’s content policies ban a host of illegal and abusive behavior, including child exploitation, the encouragement of self harm and suicide, and facilitating drug transactions. Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Moscow’s move highlights the government’s ongoing hostility toward social media platforms, which have helped galvanize young Russians protesting against President Vladimir Putin. In recent months, dissidents and anti-corruption activists have fueled waves of demonstrations across the country, powered in part by social networks — including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram — that provide a messaging alternative to state-backed Russian media.
Earlier this year, in a video address to the World Economic Forum, Putin took aim at social media companies in an implicit acknowledgment of the threat they pose to his grip on power. “These are no longer just economic giants — in some areas they are already de facto competing with states,” he said.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his political allies have relied on social platforms to amplify their criticisms of the government and to rally support for street protests.
The antagonism between authoritarian governments and social media also reflects generational differences in news consumption, experts say. Young people in Russia watch far less TV than older generations, and are less likely to adopt the views espoused on state television, challenging the portrayals of a self-reliant, trustworthy Russian government.
On a technical level, the Twitter slowdown appears to have interfered with broader Internet traffic in Russia, according to Doug Madory, the director of Internet analysis at Kentik, a network analytics company.
Over a roughly two-hour span Wednesday morning, Madory observed a 24 percent drop in Internet traffic volume to the Russian state telecom Rostelecom. “This disruption was caused by a flawed attempt to block Twitter’s link shortening service,” Madory said.
But the blocking attempt interfered with Web traffic destined for other sites, including Reddit and Microsoft, Madory said.
On Twitter, Rostelecom apologized for the outages and said they were caused by a “global accident.”
