Roskomnadzor urges Meta to unblock access to apps of RT Media Group

MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - Russian telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor has forwarded a letter to Meta Platforms Inc., demanding that it immediately lift all restrictions on the applications of Russian media outlets that are members of the RT Media Group and explain the reasons for imposing these restrictions, the Roskomnadzor press service said in a statement.

"The steps undertaken by Meta Platforms limit Internet users' possibility to receive information from independent sources and are aimed at forming the Internet audience's distorted vision of ongoing events," the press service said.

As reported earlier, the U.S. IT company Meta Platforms restricted access to the apps of all RT resources. According to Roskomnadzor, such moves undertaken by the company, which owns information resources such as the Facebook and Instagram social media platforms, violate the key principles of the free circulation of information and unhindered access to it.

Since October 2020, Roskomnadzor has registered 51 instances of Meta Platforms' Internet resources restricting access to the official accounts of Russian media outlets and public figures. Facebook has done it 26 times, and Instagram 25 times.