Moscow (AFP)

Russia announced Wednesday "to slow down" the functioning of Twitter, accused of not removing "illegal" content, a first warning shot illustrating the growing tensions between Moscow and the giants of social networks.

The Russian authorities have increased criticism of Americans Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, but also of Chinese TikTok, denouncing their omnipotence and criticizing their moderation of content, particularly political.

Twitter is not immediately pinned for such publications: the authorities blame it for not having removed content "which incites minors to commit suicide, containing child pornography, as well as information on drug use ".

"Response measures have been taken against Twitter, namely slowing the speed of the service," said Internet and media policeman Roskomnadzor, who has the power to block sites or internet resources in Russia.

He then said that the slowdown applied to "audio, video and graphic images", without affecting text messages which constitute the bulk of exchanges on this social network.

In a comment to AFP, Twitter said it was "very concerned about the increase in attempts to block and strangle public conversation online."

"We have a zero tolerance policy for the sexual exploitation of children, it is against Twitter's rules to promote, glorify or encourage suicide (...) and we do not allow the use of Twitter for everything illegal behavior, ”he added.

For Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, if the Russians "are to be able to access all (internet) world resources", they "must respect the law".

After initially threatening Twitter with "blocking" if the company continued to "ignore the requirements of the law", Roskomnadzor then asserted that such a measure was "not currently worth it, even if it remains. possible".

- Turn of the screw on the internet -

According to Senator Alexander Bashkin, Roskomnadzor's decision "will be a good cold shower that will give YouTube and all the others food for thought," MP Anton Gorelkine for his part considering that the "next candidate for these measures" is Facebook .

Moscow has its sights set on the major social networks, accused in particular of having circulated publications deemed illegal in support of the opponent Alexeï Navalny.

On Monday, Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the internet giants of "operating outside the legal framework" and "often not obeying any Russian law".

Several senior Russian officials have also seen their accounts blocked in the past.

Among them, the head of the space program Dmitry Rogozin, the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the sulphurous businessman Yevgeny Prigojine.

In a country where, unlike traditional media, the internet remains relatively free, many Russians are getting more and more information on platforms like YouTube.

In response, the authorities have continued to tighten the screws in the name of the fight against extremism and the protection of minors.

Catch-all concepts according to critics of the Kremlin, who see in them attempts at censorship.

For Artiom Kozliouk, director of the digital freedoms NGO Roskomsvoboda, the measures targeting Twitter are thus intended to convince the American giants to "restrict access to content with political connotations or linked to the opposition".

He denounced to AFP "the expansion of internet censorship" since 2012.

Russia is already blocking sites that oppose or have refused to cooperate with the authorities, with varying degrees of success, such as the professional network LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, accused of refusing to store its data in Russia.

Twitter, Facebook and even Google regularly receive fines, the amounts of which, some tens of thousands of euros, remain derisory compared to their profits.

Russian authorities also unsuccessfully attacked the popular encrypted messaging Telegram in 2018 for its refusal to provide security services with the means to read its users' messages.

© 2021 AFP