Meta, Google and TikTok have blocked Russian state-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik in Europe, the companies said.
The action means that Facebook pages and Instagram accounts belonging to RT and Sputnik will no longer be accessible from within the European Union, Facebook’s parent company Meta said on Monday.
“We have received requests from a number of governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media,” Meta’s global affairs vice president Nick Clegg said on Twitter.
“Given the exceptional nature of the current situation, we will be restricting access to RT and Sputnik across the EU at this time,” he added.
On Tuesday, Google announced it would also clamp down on RT and Sputnik, restricting access to their YouTube channels “across Europe”.
“Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action,” the company said.
On Monday, TikTok confirmed to the Washington Post that it had also restricted access to RT and Sputnik’s accounts.
‘Ban the Kremlin’s media machine’
Social media companies have already been forced to adapt their platforms to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The announcements by the social media platforms follow comments by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, where she outlined the aims of the EU’s sanctions against Russia and ally Belarus.
“We will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU,” von der Leyen said.
“The state-owned [RT] and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war. We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe,” she said.
Euronews Next asked Google if it had taken action following pressure from governments and the EU, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
