Russia’s state censor, Roskomnadzor (RKN), has decided against blocking Twitter, but will continue to throttle the social network’s traffic until May 15. In a statement released on Monday, April 5, RKN said that this comes against the backdrop of “decisions first adopted by the company Twitter on changing the principles and speed of their own moderation services” in Russia.
“Twitter is being provided with additional time to remove all prohibited content from the social network and bring its activities in full compliance with the laws of our country.”
According to RKN, Twitter has removed around 1,900 of the more than 3,100 materials that they wanted taken down for containing “child pornography, pro-drug, and suicidal content.”
According to Russian law, social networks must remove prohibited content within 24 hours of receiving a notice from Roskomnadzor. According to RKN, Twitter takes 81 hours to remove content on average.
Roskomnadzor began slowing down Twitter traffic in Russia on March 10, on the grounds that the social network had failed to remove “illegal” content. RKN also threatened to block Twitter in Russia entirely, in the event that the social network refused to comply with its orders. On March 23, RKN reported that Twitter had started work on removing banned content, but underscored that the process was happening at an “unsatisfactory pace.”
Meduza survived 2024 thanks to its readers!
Let’s stick together for 2025.
The world is at a crossroads today, and quality journalism will help shape the decades to come. Real stories must be told at any cost. Please support Meduza by signing up for a recurring donation.