Twitter Speed Slowed Down in Russia Over Failure to Remove Banned Content

"The slowing down will be applied on a 100 percent of mobile devices and on 50 percent of non-mobile devices," Russian regulator Roskomnadzor said in a statement.

By Reuters | Updated: 10 March 2021 16:35 IST

Twitter Speed Slowed Down in Russia Over Failure to Remove Banned Content

If Twitter continues to ignore requirements of law, the enforcement measures will be continued

Highlights

Roskomnadzor threatened to block Twitter completely
Roskomnadzor said there were about 3,000 posts containing illegal content
Twitter, like other US social media, is used widely inside Russia

Russia's state communications watchdog said on Wednesday it was restricting the use of Twitter by slowing down its speed, accusing the social media platform of repeatedly failing to remove banned content from its site.

Roskomnadzor threatened to block the service completely and said there were more than 3,000 posts containing illegal content on it as of Wednesday.

Twitter, like other US social media, is used widely inside Russia by allies of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny whose jailing last month prompted nationwide protests.

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"The slowing down will be applied on a 100 percent of mobile devices and on 50 percent of non-mobile devices," the regulator said in a statement on its website.

"If (Twitter) continues to ignore the requirements of the law, the enforcement measures will be continued in line with the response regulations (all the way to blocking)," it said.

Twitter did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

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Wednesday's move comes amid mounting efforts by Moscow to exert greater influence over US social media platforms and frustrations over what authorities say is their failure to follow Russian laws.

Last December, parliament's lower house backed big new fines on platforms that fail to delete banned content and another bill that would allow them to be restricted if they "discriminate" against Russian media.

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