5 Mar 2021 22:16

Roskomnadzor files protocols on several social networks for involving children in unsanctioned protests

MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax) - Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has filed administrative offense protocols against the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, VKontakte (vk.com), Odnoklassniki (ok.ru), the online messaging service Telegram, and the video hosting service YouTube, Roskomnadzor's press service said in a statement on Friday.

"The grounds for filing the protocols were failures by the internet media to delete or timely delete information enticing teenagers to wrongful activities such as participation in unsanctioned public events," Roskomnadzor said.

The court has by now received administrative offense protocols against Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and YouTube, it said.

On March 4, a magistrate judge of Moscow's Savyolovsky District fined Mail.ru LLC 4,000,000 rubles for two administrative offenses defined as untimely removal of illicit calls on the Odnoklassniki social networking website, Roskomnadzor recalled.

The press service for Odnoklassniki told Interfax that the court ruling imposing the fines would be appealed.

"It is expected that as the cases will be heard one by one, administrative fines will be ordered on the owners of all the aforesaid internet platforms," Roskomnadzor said.

Part 2 of Article 13.41 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses stipulates that, if any internet platform fails to restrict access to prohibited information within 24 hours of being notified by Roskomnadzor, it may be fined 800,000 to 4,000,000 rubles. In the event of repeated violation, the amount of the fine will be raised up to one-tenth of the total annual revenue of the relevant company.

The Roskomnadzor's press service earlier unveiled plans to file from February 11 to March 1 administrative offense protocols on those social media that had failed to timely delete calls for underage children to take part in unsanctioned events.

On January 23 and 31, and February 2, Russia saw unsanctioned rallies in support of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who was arrested upon his return to his home country on January 17. Moscow's Simonovsky Court on February 2 replaced Navalny's suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case with an actual jail term.