Russia: Gov threatens to block Facebook amid crackdown on Telegram

Russia has threatened to block Facebook as the authorities attempt to extend their control of the Internet and shut down the encrypted messaging service Telegram.

Alexander Zharov, the head of the state communications oversight agency Roskomnadzor, said the agency would conduct a check of Facebook in 2018 to see whether it is storing Russians’ personal data on servers in the country, as is stipulated under a controversial 2014 law.

It would also make sure the US Internet giant is deleting information banned by the Russian authorities, noting that “they are being significantly late” to do so.

The watchdog agency was granted authority to block the Telegram app on Friday, April 13, by a Moscow court, but the effort to follow through that started Monday caused a widespread outcry after the unintended consequences became apparent.

Telegram tried to thwart the blockage by shifting its service to two American web hosts, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, while at the same time repeatedly changing its IP address to skip ahead of Roskomnadzor.

In response, rather than chasing individual IP addresses (a unique set of numbers that identifies a computer, smartphone or other device connected to the internet), the watchdog agency elected to shut down enormous blocks of IP addresses, called subnets.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia, Zharov said Facebook is already “far behind” schedule in granting the government’s requests. This is despite two meetings a year that have been taking place between the two parties, the latest of which happened in February, according to TASS.

He warned, “In case something fails to be implemented or the Russian government is not notified of their intention to take the necessary action, then the issue of a block will definitely arise.”

Full Content: New York Times & Sputnik News

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