After Approval Of New Censorship Law, TikTok Limits Services In Russia

While carrying out attacks in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s government increases censorship of Russian citizens | Photo: EFE/EPA/STRINGER

This Sunday (6), the Chinese social network TikTok announced the suspension of live broadcasts and publication of new content on Russian soil, citing fears about the safety of platform users who are posting content related to the war in Ukraine.

2022 The decision was made after approval by the Russian parliament in the Friday (4), of a law that punishes up to 15 years imprisonment for “spreading false information about the country’s armed forces”. According to the law, calling the action in the neighboring country a “war” can be considered disinformation, liable to imprisonment.

The Russian government has created several measures to prevent its citizens from having access to information from outside the country. On the same date as the law was passed, the government of Vladimir Putin banned the operation of several social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Russia’s media agency also restricted access to several major news sites such as the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Deutsche Welle on the grounds that they were publishing fake news about the war. Demonstrations by Russian citizens against Putin-ordered attacks have also been penalized with arrests; only this Sunday, 3.380 were arrested.

Jessa Martin

Jessa Martin is the author of Nogmagazine, A professional in writing by day, and novelist by night, she received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University and her master of arts in media studies from the New School. A Brooklyn native, she is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves, most likely multitasking.