Russia to check if Facebook complies with Russian law
MOSCOW - Reuters
Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor said on Nov. 8 it planned to check whether Facebook was in compliance with Russian law.
The watchdog said in September it would block Facebook starting next year unless the social network complied with a law requiring websites that store the personal data of Russian citizens to do so on Russian servers.
"In the near future Roskomnadzor will plan a series of supervisory activities aimed at analysing the activities of the administration of Facebook in terms of the processing of Russian users' personal information, the terms of services for users, and the content of existing legislation," it said in a statement on Nov. 8 carried by the Interfax news agency.
Russian authorities say the law, introduced in 2014, is aimed at protecting Russians' personal data.
Critics, however, see its use as an attack on social media in a country that has tightened its control over the Internet in
recent years.
Last year Roskomnadzor blocked access to LinkedIn to comply with a court ruling that found the networking service guilty of
violating the same data storage law.
LinkedIn Corp. has yet to come to an agreement with Russian authorities to restore public access to the service.
