As the Russia-Ukraine crisis rages on, major internet giants have announced new steps, with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube opting to restrict Russia-affiliated media on their platforms. While others, such as Apple, have decided to stop selling their goods in the nation. Russia’s state-run media sites, Russia Today and Sputnik have had their social media access revoked in the EU.
Facebook And TikTok Will Demonetize Russian Content
The actions, which were announced by Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, are the most severe limitations that social media firms have ever placed on RT and Sputnik.
On Thursday, Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the European Union stated on Sunday that Russian official media would be banned. In a tweet on Monday, Nick Clegg, the head of worldwide policy at Facebook and Instagram parent firm Meta, claimed the company has received demands to further limit Russian state media from “several states” as well as the EU. Russian state media outlets will not be allowed to display advertising or monetize content on Meta’s platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram, as of Saturday.
Nathaniel Gleicher also stated on Twitter that the firm intends to make it more difficult for people to locate these sites and their content across all of its platforms. It will also mark links from these publications on Facebook and Instagram so that everyone who sees them has context before clicking or sharing them. Google imposed similar limits for YouTube on Wednesday, after stopping Russian state media from posting advertisements or earning money on both YouTube and Google. Insider verified to TikTok that RT and Sputnik, as well as its affiliates, would be banned in Europe.
Twitter has yet to make a statement on whether it would join the other social media firms in barring Russia Today and Sputnik in the European Union and did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Insider.
On Monday, Twitter announced that tweets containing information from Russian state media outlets such as RT and Sputnik will be labeled.
