Rossiya Segodnya Calls For Ending Restrictions On Free Speech After Facebook Labels Media

Daniyal Sohail Published June 05, 2020 | 08:40 PM

The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency said on Friday that it was time for governments to regulate the work of social media monopolies and put an end to restrictions on free speech, in response to Facebook's decision to start labeling pages and posts of media outlets that it deems to be under full or partial state control

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2020) The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency said on Friday that it was time for governments to regulate the work of social media monopolies and put an end to restrictions on free speech, in response to Facebook's decision to start labeling pages and posts of media outlets that it deems to be under full or partial state control.

On Thursday, Facebook began labeling pages and posts of media outlets that it believed to be state-run, including Russia's Sputnik, Iran's Press tv and China's Xinhua news, among a total of 200 pages. At the same time, Facebook decided against introducing such marks for the US media's pages, "as even state-owned media in the US have editorial independence."

"In many countries where Sputnik newsrooms operate, Facebook is known for its political bias and censorship, which often directly contradicts local laws protecting freedom of speech.

We believe that it is time for governments to begin taking effective measures, including penalties, to regulate the work of this social network. It is time to put an end to the restrictions on freedom of speech that the United States actually imposes on us through the information monopoly of its social networks," the agency said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Solovyov, the chair of the Russian Union of Journalists, told Sputnik that Facebook's media labeling was a violation of freedom of information and political censorship. According to the official, such media giants as Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia have been repeatedly censoring publications, which is banned by the constitutions of the US and Russia.