Russia decides to slow down Twitter due to ‘banned content’

The Media Supervision Authority in Russia announced that it decided to slow down the speed of the Twitter platform in the country due to what it said was the failure of the American platform to remove 3,000 Of the publications “prohibited” and started Related to drugs, suicide and th syllablespornography.

The authority indicated that its decision takes into account the protection of Russian citizens in the first place, according to which it reduced the speed of the platform on all mobile phones and half of desktop computers.

Opponents of the Russian regime widely use the Twitter platform for social media to exchange views, and many of them indicated that they face difficulties carrying out their regular activities on the platform.

While the authority announced its decision, its website was down and officials in Moscow said that several government websites, including the website of the Russian government (the Kremlin), had encountered technical problems, indicating that these problems did not they had nothing to do with the decision. to disable the Twitter platform.

The authority also confirmed that the cause of the problem was a technical failure in the national Internet company (Ross Telecom).

Twitter is the sixth largest social media platform in Russia and is used by the majority of opponents of President Vladimir Putin, led by Alexei Navalny, who was jailed by the government upon his return to Moscow.

Navalny spent a lot of time abroad on a medical trip after an attempt to “murder with poison” in Serbia, which he accused the Russian intelligence services of being behind.

When Russia witnessed massive rallies protesting Navalny’s arrest, Moscow warned Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and other sites that they could be banned if they did not remove posts encouraging young people to demonstrate.

Analytics Technology Reporter Christina Creedel

This is the first time that Moscow has shown its muscles in this way using a law passed in 2019 that gives authorities the right to limit access to social media.

Russia Telecom uses a network of computers called (Deep Scan Package) or (DL) to connect to the Internet, so these devices act as intermediaries between the Internet and any connection to it within Russia, allowing it to filter and track content. and it also allows you to disable the sites of your choice.

Supporters say this technology allows Russia to stop any attack on the national Internet if the West decides to launch it, but opponents argue that it gives the Kremlin the power to isolate citizens from the rest of the world.

In a speech two months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was giving the National Media Monitoring Authority the authority to ban social media platforms if they commit any crime, and Putin accused social media platforms of playing an increasingly important role in influencing societies.