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Facebook Angers Russian Opposition by Blocking Protest Page Facebook Page Goes Dark, Angering Russia Dissidents
(about 7 hours later)
MOSCOW — Russian political opposition figures expressed a sense of betrayal on Monday at a decision by Facebook, one of the world’s largest social networks, to grant a Kremlin request to block a promotional page publicizing a rally next month for Aleksei A. Navalny, their embattled leader. MOSCOW — A decision by Facebook to block a page used to rally Russian opponents of President Vladimir V. Putin has engulfed the world’s largest social networking site in political controversy and raised accusations that it censors content on behalf of the authorities here.
An event page promoting a Jan. 15 demonstration near the walls of the Kremlin in support of Mr. Navalny, who faces up to 10 years in prison, had gathered more than 12,000 prospective attendees before it was blocked at the request of the Russian government’s Internet monitor, Roskomnadzor, on Saturday evening. Facebook over the weekend removed an event page promoting a Jan. 15 demonstration near the walls of the Kremlin in support of Aleksei A. Navalny, a leading opposition figure. The page had gathered more than 12,000 prospective attendees before it was blocked at the request of the Russian government’s Internet monitor, Roskomnadzor.
“We were very surprised and very disappointed because of the speed with which Facebook has satisfied an ordinary request of Roskomnadzor without even contacting the organizers of the event,” said Kira Yarmysh, a media aide to Mr. Navalny, who is barred from using the Internet and telephones because he is under house arrest. Mr. Navalny, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Moscow in 2013, has been under house arrest since February. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted in a pending criminal case — one of several prosecutions brought against him.
The actions by Roskomnadzor “seemed absurd,” Ms. Yarmysh added, calling the ban a “politically motivated attempt” by the government of President Vladimir V. Putin to prevent the protest. Vadim Ampelonsky, a spokesman for Roskomnadzor, said on Saturday that Facebook had deleted the demonstration page because it called for an “unsanctioned mass event,” which can apply to any public event with three or more people.
When popular dissent against Mr. Putin reached a fever pitch in late 2011 and crowds of more than 100,000 turned out to protest what they said were blatantly fraudulent elections, Facebook was the main conduit for anti-government organizers. One regular attendee even carried a flag with the company’s emblem, urging others to join the social network to stay abreast of developments. Supporters of Mr. Navalny accused Facebook of yielding too quickly to government pressure.
Increasingly, however, the company’s desire to expand its business in Russia has contended with more regulation from the government, which views social networks with deep mistrust and has sought to police and cleanse them of calls for political change and revolution. “We were very surprised and very disappointed because of the speed with which Facebook has satisfied an ordinary request of Roskomnadzor without even contacting the organizers of the event,” said Kira Yarmysh, a press aide to Mr. Navalny, who is barred from using the Internet or telephone because he is under house arrest.
In the past six months, Facebook has blocked 29 pieces of content that promoted “extremist activities and images of drug-use and self-harm,” the company stated in a periodically updated online report. The ensuing uproar may force Facebook, and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, to make a clearer choice between the free flow of information that social media promises and the risk of lost market-share that could result from angering powerful but repressive governments.
None of those has evoked the reaction that its decision this weekend did. Even on Monday, after word of Facebook’s decision had circulated for two days, the company seemed intent on skirting debate. A spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the company did not discuss specific blocking cases.
“Facebook has no guts and no principles,” Pavel Durov, the founder of VKontakte, Russia’s largest social network, who sold his position in the company and fled Russia in April under growing government pressure, wrote on Twitter. “A shame they keep spreading their lack of values by growth and acquisitions.” Similar pages promoting antigovernment events in Russia were not blocked, including one for the rally supporting Mr. Navalny that is essentially a clone of the one Facebook blocked. Already, more than 25,000 people posted on that page that they planned to attend.
Russia has been vocal about its desire to increase control over social networks to protect the private data of Russians. Critics argue the government’s real motive is to crush political opposition. A person briefed on the situation, who asked not to be identified because of the political sensitivity of the issue, said on Monday that the company had received additional requests from the Russian government to block other pages promoting the rally and that so far it had not granted them. Those requests are still under review, the person said.
In the past year, Russian lawmakers have passed legislation requiring bloggers with more than 3,000 readers to register with the government, as well as a law requiring companies that run social networks, like Facebook, Twitter and Google, to maintain servers with user information inside the country, providing easier access for law enforcement, or face punishment. While the decision to block the page in Russia was particularly sensitive because of Mr. Navalny’s high profile, Facebook routinely gets requests from governments around the world to block content, typically on the basis that it violates local laws. The company insists it has rigorous policies to handle them.
At a media conference in April, Mr. Putin suggested that Russia needed greater protections from the Internet, and said it had been developed as a “C.I.A. project.” Facebook also publishes semiannual reports tallying government requests, either for data about users, in criminal investigations, for example, or to restrict content. In the first six months of 2014, Facebook said it granted 29 blocking requests in Russia. By comparison, 1,893 requests were granted in Turkey; 34 in Germany; nine in Britain; and none in the United States.
Vadim Ampelonsky, a spokesman for Roskomnadzor, said on Saturday that Facebook had blocked the demonstration page because it had called for an “unsanctioned mass event,” which according to 2012 amendments to the law can apply to any public event with three or more people. The Kremlin’s increasingly aggressive efforts to control social media, however, seem to have made Russia the immediate testing ground for Facebook’s most complicated questions about balancing user rights, government demands and the quest for profit for shareholders. Russia’s huge market and heavily-wired, Internet-savvy populace also raise the stakes.
Facebook declined through a spokesman to comment on Monday, saying the company does not discuss specific cases when Facebook blocks content. In recent months, allies of Mr. Putin effectively seized control of VKontakte, Russia’s largest social media site, which was modeled heavily on Facebook, sending its founder, Pavel Durov, into self-imposed exile. Russia has also adopted laws tightening controls on bloggers, public wireless users and data-server operators.
However, a new event page similar to the one that Facebook blocked has appeared on the social network, and more than 25,000 people have said on that page that they will attend the rally. Mr. Durov was particularly harsh in his reaction to Facebook’s decision to grant the government’s request.
An employee of Facebook, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the issue is politically delicate, said on Monday that the company had received requests from the Russian government to block other pages advertising the rally and that so far it had not complied. Those requests are still under review, the person said. “Facebook has no guts and no principles,” Mr. Durov wrote on Twitter. “A shame they keep spreading their lack of values by growth and acquisitions.”
Anton Nossik, an Internet entrepreneur who pioneered some of the country’s first digital news sites, said that the Russian government could be emboldened by successes in forcing Facebook and other social networks to censor content. The dispute comes as Facebook continues to battle for market share outside the United States, where its growth has slowed. The company is particularly threatened by the rise of VKontakte, which had 88.8 million unique visits from desktop users in November, according to data from Comscore, a market research firm. Nearly 53.3 million of those users came from the Russian Federation, the data showed.
“They are sure that actually Western corporations are more about business than freedom of speech,” Mr. Nossik said of Russia’s Internet regulators. “And as you’ve noticed, it even worked. The compliance by Facebook, that was probably a mistake, and probably was explained by the fact that it was a weekend. So Facebook didn’t give it appropriate consideration before complying.” “They’ve made such an awesome clone of Facebook it’s been hard to beat them,” Mr. Zuckerberg said at an event at Stanford University last year. “It’s almost been 10 years since we started Facebook, and we still haven’t beaten them in Russia.”
Facebook is the largest foreign social network in Russia, but local social networks have larger market share. Event pages for the Jan. 15 rally were also taken down on VKontakte, as well as the social network Odnoklassniki. Some said Facebook would confront censorship issues often as it expands abroad. “To a large degree, if Facebook wants to do business they need to follow local laws, even if those go against their policy in other regions,” said Brian Blau, an analyst for Gartner.
Though public opposition to Mr. Putin has diminished during a surge of patriotism over the conflict in Ukraine, public protests in support of Mr. Navalny have regularly brought thousands on to the streets. Prosecutors last week asked that Mr. Navalny be sentenced to 10 years in a prison colony, and that his brother, Oleg, be sentenced to eight years. Anton Nossik, an Internet entrepreneur who pioneered some of the country’s first digital news sites, said that the Russian government could be emboldened by successes in forcing social networks to censor content.
Mr. Navalny has denied the charges against him and said that they are politically motivated. “They are sure that actually Western corporations are more about business than freedom of speech,” Mr. Nossik said of Russia’s regulators. “And as you’ve noticed, it even worked. The compliance by Facebook — that was probably a mistake, and probably was explained by the fact that it was a weekend. So Facebook didn’t give it appropriate consideration before complying.”
In a closing speech in a Moscow court on Friday, Mr. Navalny described his legal saga as a “fairy tale.” Roskomnadzor has blocked close to a dozen pages with information about the pro-Navalny protest. The crackdown has prompted organizers to devise creative ways to promote the protest.
“I would like to appeal from this place to those who ordered this trial,” Mr. Navalny said, according to a transcript of the speech. “Let us leave the world of fantasies and fairy tales.” One page in support of the protest bore a large, red button that read “push” and redirected readers to a working advertisement for the event. In the background, a campy ’90s pop tune called “Meeting on Manezh,” the location for the rally, blared on repeat.
“If someone thinks that I or my colleagues will cease that activity that we have been doing,” he added, “then they are deeply mistaken.” “The given page was created so that anyone interested can always find the current link to the event group which cannot be named,” a cryptic note read.
Roskomnadzor has blocked close to a dozen pages with information about the pro-Navalny protest. The crackdown has provoked creative responses. The page was blocked Monday night.
One page in support of the protest appeared bearing a large, red button that read “push,” redirecting readers to a working advertisement for the event. In the background, a campy ’90s pop tune called “Meeting on Manezh,” the location for the rally, blared on repeat.
“The given page was created so that anyone interested can always find the current link to the event group which cannot be named,” a cryptic note on the page reads.
The page was blocked on Monday evening.