As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, Facebook's parent corporation Meta has announced steps to ban access to Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik across the European Union.
On Tuesday afternoon, Meta's global relations director, Nick Clegg, tweeted that the social media platform has received demands from a number of governments and the EU "to take more steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media."
Given the unusual nature of the current circumstances, Clegg stated on Twitter they will be "restricting access to RT and Sputnik across the EU at this time." Clegg did not elaborate on the limits.
The statement comes on the fifth day of Russia's military assault on Ukraine, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 352 people, according to the Ukrainian health ministry, and has been widely condemned.
During Russia's invasion of Ukraine, state-run media engagement on social media platforms became a controversial subject for significant digital businesses.
In recent days, Meta, Google, and YouTube have taken steps to prevent Russian state media groups from profiting from advertisements on their services. In 2017, Twitter prohibited RT and Sputnik from advertising on the platform.
Facebook announced on Friday that it had limited the capacity of Russian state media to make money on the social media network.
The action occurred after Russia declared that it was restricting access to Facebook in part because the corporation refused to comply with a Russian government request to remove fact-checkers and content warning labels from its platforms.
The EU said on Sunday that RT and Sputnik would be banned, and Canadian cellular companies have also stopped supplying the RT channel.
On Tuesday, the websites of several Russian news institutions were hacked, with a statement denouncing Moscow's invasion of Ukraine appearing on their home pages.
While the perpetrators of the breach are unknown, the intrusion points to a growing anti-war sentiment among Russians and others around the world. The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been accused of attempting to repress dissent.
Roskomnadzor, Russia's national communications and media watchdog, has blocked multiple Russian and Ukrainian news outlets for their coverage of Ukraine's invasion.
Despite authorities starting a huge arrest operation against demonstrators, protests against the invasion have been conducted across Russia for many days, and about 1 million people have signed an online petition demanding an end to the conflict.
