author: Bart Swiatek
Google and Facebook Accused of Breaking Electoral Silence in Russia
Facebook and Google were accused of breaking the electoral silence during the local elections held in Russia last Sunday. The companies were supposed to display advertisements and political spots in violation of the law. The Russian media supervisory authority has not informed about possible consequences for the companies.
Engadget reports that two Internet giants, Google and Facebook, were accused of breaking electoral silence during the local elections held on September 8 in Russia. The charges were formulated by the so-called Roskomnadzor, the body responsible for media supervision.
Officials accuse both companies of displaying political advertisements both during the election itself and on the preceding day. Spots also appeared on YouTube. According to Roskomnadzor, such practices may be considered an attempt to interfere with the democratic process and independence of the state (that said, Russia is accused of using the Internet media for exactly the same purpose in the context of elections in the United States and the brexit referendum in the United Kingdom).
It is worth noting that a few days earlier, on Friday, September 6, the Russian authorities warned both companies to comply with the law in force. As you can see, the warning didn't work. In the published communication, Roskomnadzor did not threaten the corporations with any specific consequences.