Russia limits access to Facebook amid invasion of Ukraine
February 26, 2022, 7:26 am

Russia limits access to Facebook amid invasion of Ukraine

Facebook-Social Media-Blue platform/Pixabay

The BBC reported, Russia has limited access to Facebook over the platform's stance on the accounts of several Moscow-backed news outlets amid the invasion of Ukraine.

It said that Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor accused the network of "censorship" and violating "the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens".

Facebook said it had refused to stop fact-checking and labelling content from state-owned news organisations.

The move came a day after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine.

It is unclear what the regulator restrictions mean, or to what extent Facebook's parent company Meta's other platforms - WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram - are affected.

The regulator had demanded Facebook lift the restrictions it placed on Thursday on state news agency RIA, state TV channel Zvezda, and pro-Kremlin news sites Lenta.Ru and Gazeta.Ru. It said that Meta had "ignored" these requests.

Onion- or helmet-shaped domes in Moscow, Russia (File photo: Pixabay)

Sir Nick Clegg, vice-president of global affairs at Meta, said Russian authorities "ordered us to stop the independent fact-checking and labelling" the outlets' content. "We refused," he said.

But Sir Nick made clear he wanted Russians to continue to use Meta's platforms.

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He said: "Ordinary Russians are using our apps to express themselves and organise for action," and the company wants "them to continue to make their voices heard".

Many state-owned media outlets in Russia have painted a largely positive picture of Russian military advances in Ukraine, calling the invasion a "special military operation" that had been forced on Moscow.

On Thursday Meta said it had set up a "special operations centre" to monitor content about the conflict in Ukraine.

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The BBC said, Russia has its own Facebook equivalents, VK and Odnoklassniki, but Facebook is also popular in the country - as is Meta-owned Instagram.

On Friday, US Senator Mark Warner said Facebook, YouTube and other social media services had "a clear responsibility to ensure that your products are not used to facilitate human rights abuses".

Meta, has been under pressure to label misinformation - and has been working with outside fact-checkers, including Reuters.

Moscow has also increased pressure on domestic media, threatening to block reports that contain what it describes as "false information" regarding its invasion of Ukraine.

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Twitter also told the BBC that its safety and integrity teams were "disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information and to advance the speed and scale of our enforcement".

Source: BBC

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”