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Russia has moved to restrict access to Twitter as its invasion of Ukraine continues. Starting early Saturday morning, internet monitor NetBlocks saw a nearly complete blackout of the platform across all major domestic telecom providers, including Rostelecom and MTS. For the time being, Russian residents and those visiting the country can still access Twitter using VPN services but reaching the website directly is nearly impossible.
We’re aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our service safe and accessible.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 26, 2022
Twitter confirmed the reports at 11:51AM ET. “We’re aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our service safe and accessible,” the company said.
At the moment, Russians can reportedly still access Facebook and Instagram, but that may change. On Friday, the country’s telecom regulator, Roskomnadzor, began partially restricting access to Facebook after Meta refused to stop fact-checking and labeling content from state-owned news organizations. At the time, Roskomnadzor accused Facebook of violating “the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.”
⚠️ Confirmed: Live metrics show that Twitter has been restricted on multiple providers in #Russia as of 9:00 a.m. UTC; the incident comes as the government clashes with social media platforms over policy in relation to the #Ukraine conflict 📉
📰 Report: https://t.co/ihPX8fb86spic.twitter.com/nGrcHzjIXd
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 26, 2022
It’s unclear why Russia has moved to block Twitter, but all the videos of the conflict you see on the platform may have played a part in the decision. For instance, Russia claims its airstrikes haven’t targeted civilian infrastructure, but several widely circulated videos appear to show otherwise. Those clips and others would appear to paint a picture of the invasion that is quite different from the one Russian-state media has pushed.
“Russia’s restriction of Twitter will significantly limit the free flow of information at a time of crisis when the public most needs to stay informed,” NetBlocks director Alp Toker told the BBC.
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Facebook has blocked Russian state media outlets from using its advertising platform or using other monetization features in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The move comes after Russia regulator Roskomnadzor said it would restrict access to the social network after Facebook officials declined to stop fact checking Russian state-run media outlets on the platform. Now, Meta’s Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher says the company is stepping up its restrictions on Russian state media, which are now barred from running ads or using monetization features anywhere in the world. He added that the company continues to “to apply labels to additional Russian state media.”
2/ We are closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and will keep sharing steps we’re taking to protect people on our platform. https://t.co/mTatqghCzQ
— Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) February 26, 2022
It follows a similar move from Twitter, which announced on Friday that it was suspending all advertising in Ukraine and Russia in order to better highlight authoritative information and guard against misinformation. Facebook has also previously enabled a “lock profile” feature for people in Ukraine as an added security feature, and has formed a “Special Operations Center” to track how the invasion of Ukraine is unfolding on its platform.
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