Russia fined Facebook, Telegram for unlawful content

Russia has fined social media platform Facebook and messaging app Telegram for not taking down content the government deems unlawful.

The Associated Press reported it is unknown what content the apps failed to remove, but the Russian government has recently been going after content that is anti-government.

Facebook was fined $236,000 and Telegram was fined $139,000, according to the AP.

This isn’t the first time Russia has tried to censor social media and messaging platforms as the country has a long history with Facebook, Telegram and Twitter.

Twitter was slowed down in the country and threatened with a ban at the beginning of this year. Facebook and Telegram received fines last month as the platforms again failed to remove unlawful content.

Russia went after social media companies early in the year as they were being used to organize protests for the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the AP noted. 

Russia has recently been clamping down on all opposition as it prepares for September’s parliamentary elections.

Along with going after social media and messaging apps, the country has been arresting high-profile political opponents of Putin and banning their allies from running in the election. 

Nigeria has also gone after Twitter and banned the platform completely from its country due to the company removing a post from the country’s president.