Caracas (AFP)

The Venezuelan government on Sunday accused Facebook of "digital totalitarianism", denouncing the blocking for 30 days of the page of Socialist President Nicolas Maduro for "repeated violations" by the latter of the American company's policy on disinformation linked to Covid- 19.

"We are witnessing a digital totalitarianism exercised by supranational companies who want to impose their law on the countries of the world," said a statement from the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication and Information.

The blocking of the page, which prevents its administrators from posting new messages for a month without making it invisible, followed the deletion of a video by Mr. Maduro on the drug Carvativir, whose effectiveness has not yet been demonstrated by medical studies, specifies Facebook.

"We have removed a video posted on the page of President Nicolas Maduro for violating our policies of disinformation (...) which could put people in danger", explained the social network.

"It is striking that, in a sort of tyranny of the algorithm, one mainly persecutes the contents directed towards the fight against the pandemic", retorted the Venezuelan government.

Caracas also viewed Facebook's move as an "extension" of US sanctions against Venezuela in an attempt to depose Nicolas Maduro, calling it an "act of censorship."

The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP), one of the country's leading journalist organizations, accuses the Maduro government of pursuing "a systematic policy" against critical media.

In the same vein, the NGO for the freedom of expression Espacio Público denounces the closure of more than a hundred media since the arrival to power of the leader in 2013.

© 2021 AFP