Discussion

• @gregpmiller Greg Miller on x

  NEW: Russian FSB agents came to homes of top Google and Apple officials and threatened to take them to prison. Part of a massive Kremlin pressure campaign against US tech now accelerating amid Ukraine war. Exclusive with @josephmenn https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @brianmcc Brian McCullough on x

  From what I understand this is the real reason brands are leaving Russia. Not virtue signaling. 1) No one can pay for your goods 2) Govt. might retaliatory confiscate your assets inside Russia 3) Govt. were threatening to “disappear” your employees. https://www.techmeme.com/...

• @verambergen Vera Bergengruen on x

  “Titans of American technology had been brought to their knees by some of the most primitive intimidation tactics in the Kremlin playbook.” Revealing look into how Putin got Apple & Google to cave to his demands that helped erode internal opposition https://www.washingtonpost.com…

• @razhael Raphael Satter on x

  Salutary reminder that the same tech companies who today are pulling the plug on RT and its ilk were yesterday censoring the Russian opposition for fear of upsetting Moscow. https://twitter.com/...

• @justinhendrix Justin Hendrix on x

  “On their own, these moves were seen as disparate signs of 🇷🇺 descent into authoritarianism. But they also laid the groundwork for the Soviet-style suppression of free expression now underway in 🇷🇺, much as the months-long military buildup set the stage for the invasion of 🇺🇦.” h…

• @matthew_kupfer Matthew Kupfer on x

  Shameful behavior by Apple. This makes a strong argument that no US tech companies should have offices or staff in #Russia. https://twitter.com/...

• @jaysbookman Jay Bookman on x

  You can't appease this mindset. You can only defeat it. https://twitter.com/...

• @akiperitz Aki Peritz on x

  I had no idea about how Google and Apple caved to FSB mafia-intimidation tactics so recently. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @dimagorelov Dmitri Gorelov on x

  On the eve of #Russia's parliamentary elections last year, FSB agents came to the home of Google's top executive in Moscow and threatened to take her to prison, @WashingtonPost reports. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @john_hudson John Hudson on x

  Russian agents came to the home of Google's top executive in Moscow to deliver a frightening ultimatum last September: take down an app that had drawn the ire of Vladimir Putin within 24 hours or be taken to prison https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• Vox Shirin Ghaffary on x

  Russia continues its online censorship spree by blocking Instagram

• @mjluxmoore Matthew Luxmoore on x

  A massive move. Like so much that has happened in Russia since Feb 24, this is something most people considered a very remote possibility even years hence, because there would be too much uproar. Many Russians are now so cowed that from the Kremlin's perspective, anything goes. h…

• @mas1banda Ottilia Anna MaSibanda on x

  If this was about ideals, it would apply to all occupied states. Why are Palestinians not afforded the same freedom to express ‘self-defence in reaction to forced occupation’? Why can't they be free to ‘express their resistance & fury’? Why is removing their content ‘acceptable’?…

• @scribe_light @scribe_light on x

  So now Facebook gives free speech allowances based on a “favored nation status”. What a world. https://twitter.com/...

• @brianfishman Brian Fishman on x

  @sanjanah They did, ultimately, take extraordinary steps in Myanmar. People understandably focus on FBs past mistakes there. In doing so, they miss an opportunity to improve things moving forward in other places. Your question should be whether those Myanmar steps should be used …

• @sanjanah Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa on x

  @brianfishman Though statement allows for other readings, fair point and on that basis, can't recall similar “extraordinary measures” taken in Myanmar, Syria, with the Palestinians, in Afghanistan & elsewhere, around respective perpetrators & harms against civilians. Perhaps I mi…

• @edgarsrinkevics @edgarsrinkevics on x

  #Russia is banning Western social media, I think it is time for @Twitter @Meta @instagram @YouTube and others to delete accounts of the Russian government and propaganda outlets as they are openly promoting and justifying war crimes and spreading lies and disinformation

• @mougendi Eric Mugendi on x

  This could be the thing that pushes platforms to look beyond profit... https://twitter.com/...

• @brianfishman Brian Fishman on x

  @sanjanah You're of course right that geo-fencing is always a mess. My read of the statement is that its about Russians in Ukraine, not just statements from Ukrainians. I think we have to give countries & companies space to take some extraordinary measures here that dont create p…

• @sanjanah Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa on x

  @brianfishman What happens when a Ukrainian crosses into Poland? A Ukrainian in the United States with family in Ukraine or refugee in Germany? Ukrainian students in UK? Tourists in Australia? The geo-fencing makes no sense, & this is a policy precedent that is Pandora's Box for …

• @zidansports Karim Zidan on x

  Instagram is also used by Kadyrov and his henchmen to spread their propaganda. There are dozens of Kadyrov-linked accounts, many of which have hundreds of thousands of followers. By banning IG, Putin is inadvertently cutting off a propaganda platform from his Chechen puppet https…

• @b52malmet Barbara Malmet on x

  No Insta. No WhatsApp. Hitting younger generation of Russians hard. Will they hit back at their war-mongering monstrous leader? He broke his promise to them to keep a steady economy in exchange for their acceptance of autocracy. https://twitter.com/...

• @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x

  This is a great point. What happens if you're a Ukrainian refugee who wants to express themselves against the Russian army? Will they be able to post what they want if they've fled from their home country? https://twitter.com/...

• @etbrooking Emerson T. Brooking on x

  Another illustration of the impossibility of wartime content moderation. Facebook likely included Eastern Europe for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who have fled their homes and had friends murdered. Now you can show fury - but only if you haven't crossed a border. h…

• @1br0wn Ian Brown on x

  Zuckerberg and Clegg are equally offensive as global speech police (I'll leave you to decide which is Dumb, and which Dumber) https://twitter.com/...

• @markscott82 Mark Scott on x

  When a tech company plays referee in a global conflict https://twitter.com/...

• @donie @donie on x

  Nick Clegg explains why Facebook will allow Ukrainians to promote violence against Russian soldiers — something that would normally be against its policies. https://twitter.com/...

• @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x

  Facebook is changing its policy that allows for calls against violence to Russian soldiers. It's now supposedly being limited to users in Ukraine as opposed to other Eastern European countries as it told moderators earlier this week. https://t.co/Ic4wY4jJkS

• @shannonpareil Shannon Bond on x

  Facebook now says its temporarily exception allowing for violent speech directed at Russian soldiers will only be applied in Ukraine - not other countries, as the emails reported by Reuters yesterday said https://twitter.com/...

• @brianfishman Brian Fishman on x

  This one isn't that complicated. “Meta” content policy prohibits attacks based on protected characteristics, incl nationality. That includes a Ukrainian saying, “We should kill the Russians in Mariupol,” or some such. They don't want to take that down. Hence this clarification. h…

• @fboversight @fboversight on x

  Where is the CEO, though? https://twitter.com/...

• @karissabe Karissa Bell on x

  Interesting that Clegg says the policy is only for people “in Ukraine itself” while Reuters reported it applied to Poland and a handful of other countries as well https://twitter.com/...

• @sanjanah Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa on x

  A very rare and leaked photo of Facebook's team that makes policy decisions. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @byjacobward Jacob Ward on x

  This after the Russian Prosecutor General announced a ban on Instagram, saying it “distributes informational materials containing calls to commit violent acts against citizens of the Russian Federation, including military personnel.” https://twitter.com/...

• @campuscodi Catalin Cimpanu on x

  Instagram's “denazification” live streams had been a source of real news about Russia's operations in Ukraine that the government couldn't control or flood with its cheap propaganda. They obviously had to go. https://t.co/Xoloe4OQ8o

• @marclobliner Marc Lobliner on x

  Nothing bad ever came from people calling for violence against an entire group of people. Sincerely, The Jews https://twitter.com/...

• @jeffnolan Jeff Nolan on x

  they don't really know what they are doing. They go from one crisis to another making shit up on the fly. No wonder Zuck wants to exit real life for the metaverse https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @kanwalsibal Kanwal Sibal on x

  Points to need to strongly regulate SM in India.Openly calling for violence truly condemnable. This is dangerous political meddling. Lesson here for us. When restrictions placed in India on SM to control violence we are attacked for curtailing FOE. Usual hypocrisy. https://twitte…

• @sanksp @sanksp on x

  What if one day they arbitrarily decide who the next bad guys are and allow hate speech against that group too? Putin is wrong to have invaded, but is Meta really going to sit in judgement on who hate speech can be directed at? https://twitter.com/...

• @momosasa22 @momosasa22 on x

  Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,YouTube& other media platforms have a history of supporting violence&terrorism.Trump's “China Virus” &its subsequent violence & racial hatred have not been restricted or blamed by any of these platforms. Now they're just more unabashed,making it public.…

• @ramprasad_c Ram on x

  There is no policy. There are just sides. Use the wrong pronouns and you are done but call for violence against Russians and you'll get a pat on the back. https://twitter.com/...

• @witnessiam @witnessiam on x

  Next they will say it's ok to call for violence against anti-vaxxers. Are you paying attention yet? https://twitter.com/...

• @rachelbovard Rachel Bovard on x

  Facebook bans incitement to violence except when it's calling for political assassinations of the right bad people. And then it's fine. https://www.reuters.com/...

• @axios @axios on x

  UPDATE: Russia has responded to Facebook and Instagram loosening some hate speech restrictions over the invasion of Ukraine by accusing Meta of “extremist activities” and demanding U.S. authorities act against the tech giant https://www.axios.com/...

• @eculliford Elizabeth Culliford on x

  EXCLUSIVE: Facebook and Instagram are temporarily allowing calls for violence against Russians and calls for the death of Putin and Lukashenko in some countries, including in Ukraine https://www.reuters.com/... (w/@MunsifV)

• @jeremylittau Jeremy Littau on x

  “We don't allow hate speech except against certain people from a certain country” is one hell of a can of worms.

• @stillgray Ian Miles Cheong on x

  Pedos now have more protections on social media than Russians do. Facebook and Instagram have changed their policies so that you can wish violence on Russians. If you wish harm on pedos, you will still be banned. Let that sink in.

• @bruce_petz @bruce_petz on x

  @Reuters So Facebook is allowing Russians in Russia, and Ukrainians in Ukraine, to call for the death of Putin. But they obviously wouldn't have allowed Americans or Iraqis to call for the death of GWB circa 2003-2008 if Facebook had existed at the time.

• @seahawkmjk Michael Kennedy on x

  @KyivIndependent I am troubled by “Meta will allow for calls of violence against Russians in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine”. Not all Russians support Putin's War and many Russians here in the US are sympathetic to Ukraine- But Putin is fair game in my book!

• @markamesexiled Mark Ames on x

  Facebook is a violent hate machine, as everyone now knows. This is straight-up incitement to ethnic violence. Exactly what this world needs in the middle of Putin's war on Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/...

• @watchchad Chad Prather on x

  Facebook will block you for telling someone to get a life but you're free to call for acts of aggression against Russians. Terms of Use my ass.

• @richardhanania Richard Hanania on x

  Facebook to allow calls for violence against Russian soldiers, but only if you're in Poland, Ukraine, or Russia, and as long as it doesn't include calls for violence against POWs. Also, you can praise Nazis now as long as they're Azov. https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.…

• @bryandeanwright @bryandeanwright on x

  OFF THE RAILS: Mark Zuckerberg made a “temporary change” to his hate speech policies which now allow users to openly support Ukrainian neo-Nazis and calls for the death of Russians. 🤯🤯🤯 https://twitter.com/...

• @mosseri Adam Mosseri on x

  On Monday, Instagram will be blocked in Russia. This decision will cut 80 million in Russia off from one another, and from the rest of the world as ~80% of people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country. This is wrong.

• @polinaivanovva @polinaivanovva on x

  BREAKING - Russia just started process of banning Instagram. It's huge because this is really a much loved platform in Russia and also the source of income for lots of small businesses across the country. And for young Moscow elites it's.. everything https://twitter.com/...

• @nexta_tv @nexta_tv on x

  One of the #Russian bloggers cries that in two days her Instagram will stop working She does not care at all about the thousands of dead people, including her compatriots. Obviously, her biggest worry right now is that she won't be able to post pictures of food from restaurants. …

• @revolutia Om Jed Revolutia on x

  Stupid people think that when Russians don't have Facebook or Instagram, their lives are over. There are many alternatives and Chinese apps are actually much superior. That's why Zuckerberg is dying to copy everything made by Chinese apps into his apps. https://twitter.com/...

• @rmac18 Ryan Mac on x

  The 80% is a real interesting number, but it still feels... low? It feels like a result of the global internet would be that people just follow others, especially celebs, regardless of nationality. Would love to see the breakdown for other countries. https://twitter.com/...

• @clancynewyork Eileen Clancy on x

  As we know from at least two whistleblower former FB employees, FB execs have never adequately dealt with the harms it causes. In 2018, Mosseri: “We're trying to take the issue [role of Facebook in genocide] seriously, but we lose some sleep over this.” https://www.businessinside…

• @clancynewyork Eileen Clancy on x

  In 2018, the U.N. said Facebook played a “determining role” in the Myanmar genocide. Adam Mosseri, head of FB's News Feed, was asked what happened in Myanmar: “Connecting the world isn't always going to be a good thing.” I'm not super interested in this guy's view of right/wrong.…

• @benjaminwittes Benjamin Wittes on x

  No, it's really not wrong. https://twitter.com/...

• @afpalasciano Andrea Palasciano on x

  In Russia, I have done things like buy socks/furniture/book a massage/a restaurant/a dentist appointment on Instagram. Russian authorities called for Instagram to be blocked in the country - it would be a tremendous blow for small and medium business, it's their main platform.

• @jonnytickle Jonny Tickle on x

  Pretty hard to describe to people who haven't been to Russia just how important Instagram is to young Muscovites. For the wealthy elites, it is basically a lifestyle. I once even joked that blocking Instagram might be the one thing that causes a revolution. Now, I'm not so sure. …

• @maxseddon Max Seddon on x

  The implications of this are enormous. Instagram is the most popular social network in Russia by far and is crucial to small businesses - from beauty blogging to coffee shops. WhatsApp has 77m users in Russia, nearly double what Telegram has. And most Russians don't have VPNs.

• @tomwarren Tom Warren on x

  Russia says it will ban Instagram in 48 hours, a week after blocking Facebook https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @maxabrahms Max Abrahms on x

  This is not surprising at all once you realize social media companies are political and make rules to serve their political agenda. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @rpwwilliams Ryan P. Williams on x

  Oh, I see. Don't worry, folks, this new rule-by-exception approach to social media death-threat rules certainly won't come to America and apply to select “regime enemies.” That would never happen here... https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

• @kevinrothrock Kevin Rothrock on x

  This is what he's talking about: https://www.theverge.com/...

• @powervertical Brian Whitmore on x

  YouTube said it would globally block all channels associated with Russian state-funded media, including RT and Sputnik. About time.

• @tomwarren Tom Warren on x

  YouTube says it's blocking Russian state-funded media channels worldwide, effective immediately. That means Russia Today (RT) broadcasts are literally just for Russia, today https://www.theverge.com/ https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @jenn_elias Jennifer Elias on x

  in the third week of the Russian war, YouTube says it will block Russian state-funded media globally, instead of just across Europe. https://twitter.com/...

• @maxseddon Max Seddon on x

  YouTube is blocking all Russian state media from the platform. Set a timer - won't be long now before Russia blocks YouTube, which was the last real outpost for free public expression in the country. https://twitter.com/...

• @rusembusa @rusembusa on x

  ☝️We demand that 🇺🇸 authorities stop the extremist activities of @Meta, take measures to bring the perpetrators to justice. Users of #Facebook & #Instagram did not give the owners of these platforms the right to determine the criteria of truth and pit nations against each other. …

• @maxseddon Max Seddon on x

  Russia's is moving to ban Instagram, which seemed inevitable - and wants to have Meta, the parent company, declared an “extremist organization.” Even in the context of wartime repression, this is astonishing - it basically likens Facebook to al-Qaeda. https://t.me/...

• @maryilyushina Mary Ilyushina on x

  I mean hugely significant — WhatsApp is the most popular messenger in Russia, it takes up nearly 60% of all messenger internet traffic. We are talking tens of millions of people having limited access to comms, and for a lot of them VPNs are not familiar tech.

• @maxseddon Max Seddon on x

  Russia now signaling that WhatsApp will be allowed to keep going. It's one thing to build a social network ecosystem from scratch, like in China, but when you don't have enough replacements and people are used to foreign apps, banning them is much harder https://twitter.com/...

• @maryilyushina Mary Ilyushina on x

  Important update — Russia signals it won't touch Whatsapp as it is considered “means of communication” but not “posting information,” state news agency RIA Novosti says citing a source.

• @kkomaitis @kkomaitis on x

  I'm twisting my brain trying to figure out what exactly Facebook was hoping to achieve by bending its content moderation policy this way! The only conclusion I reach so far is: a pointless attempt to solidarity which in practical terms does nothing at all. https://techpolicy.pres…

• @crecenteb Brian Crecente on x

  Sir, this is a Wendy's https://twitter.com/...

• @sa0un Sarah A on x

  “Russian prosecutors asked a court to designate [Meta] as an “extremist organisation"" https://www.reuters.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @holmesjosh Josh Holmes on x

  Quick reminder of the importance of American social media vs the world. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @ericgarland Eric Garland on x

  Cool, so Russia won't be buying any ads on Facebook to propagandize our electorate in the 2022 election? Awesome news! 😀 https://twitter.com/...

• @jasonhirschhorn Jason Hirschhorn on x

  This is the Meta of Metas. Reserve right to use as propaganda distribution engine in other countries. So crazy... Russia Asks Court to Label Facebook, Instagram as ‘Extremist’ - Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/...

• @maryilyushina Mary Ilyushina on x

  More dismissal from Rus officials: All Meta services may be blocked in Russia soon - First Deputy Chairman of the Duma IT Committee Sergey Boyarsky said on state TV. He acknowledged that Russians, “of course, will miss” the company's services. “But we will get through this.”

• @olliecarroll Oliver Carroll on x

  New — Valentina Matviyenko, the Ukrainian-born apparatchik who cheered on Vladimir Putin's war, has closed her Instagram account after the app became illegal today. A somber moment to reflect, and mourn. https://twitter.com/...

• @b_fung Brian Fung on x

  Russia says it's moving to ban Instagram: https://rkn.gov.ru/... And according to state media, Meta could be declared an “extremist organization”: https://tass.ru/... Huge ramifications for the many, many people in Russia who rely on these platforms for information.

• @manveenrana Manveen Rana on x

  I'm not sure this is going to help the Kremlin's message in the way they think it will. Revolutions have been sparked by less. https://twitter.com/...

• @rasmus_kleis Rasmus Kleis Nielsen on x

  Whether it's local independent media, Meduza, international media such as the BBC, or platforms - autocrats seek to control or ban things they are afraid will empower people. https://twitter.com/...

• @akarlin0 Anatoly Karlin on x

  Zoomer “porridges”, e-girls, influencooors, and rappers in shock and disbelief. https://twitter.com/...

• @apolyakova Dr Alina Polyakova on x

  This was inevitable after the ban on Facebook, but unlike FB, Instagram is used by many more Russians. https://twitter.com/...

• @tariqpanja @tariqpanja on x

  Can't think of a country's wealthy this would annoy more than Russia's. They LOVE Insta. https://twitter.com/...

• @bnhwalker Ben Walker on x

  The developing view that global sanctions could embolden Russian public opinion in support of the government would make a fair bit of sense... if the Russian government wasn't sanctioning the Russian people, also. https://twitter.com/...

• @nerdjpg Alicia on x

  To be clear, prior to this Meta just green lit posting content that is violent against Russian people and also content that is supportive of Azov https://twitter.com/...

• @alexsalvinews Alex Salvi on x

  This is extremely significant—and coming after Meta announced it would allow calls for violence against Russians on Facebook and Instagram due to the war. Instagram is the most popular platform in the country by far and plays a major role for businesses inside the country. https:…

• @drlukemcdonagh Luke McDonagh on x

  The effect of this could be to push Russia towards China's internet sphere (which is already quite bifurcated from the West's) with e.g. WeChat replacing WhatsApp & Facebook/Instagram https://twitter.com/...

• @samramani2 Samuel Ramani on x

  This is being reported on Russian state media, such as RT here https://twitter.com/...

• @maxseddon Max Seddon on x

  This is a response to Facebook's decision to allow some calls for violence against Russia. “In this specific context, ‘Russian soldiers’ is being used as a proxy for the Russian military. The Hate Speech policy continues to prohibit attacks on Russians.” https://www.reuters.com/.…

• @maryilyushina Mary Ilyushina on x

  This seemed like a matter of time but still significant: Russian Prosecutor General's Office demanded to restrict Instagram in Russia. And also recognize Meta (manages Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram) as an extremist organization and ban its work in Russia.

• @etbrooking Emerson T. Brooking on x

  Most of Meta's actions re: Azerbaijan-Armenia 2020 are not public, but I recall they did a lot of geo-blocking and permitted generalized calls for violence similar to this. To do otherwise - to erase evidence of an ONGOING WAR - would be insane. https://twitter.com/...

• @slpng_giants @slpng_giants on x

  WHAT??? Facebook and @instagram are truly the worst companies. What are we even doing right now? https://www.reuters.com/...