Facebook is facing heightened scrutiny of its conduct in countries with authoritarian regimes amid reports that an events page for Russia’s most prominent dissident was blocked by the company at the insistence of the Russian government.
A page organizing a protest in support of dissident Alexei Navalny was reportedly blocked on Saturday after Russian Internet regulators issued a "demand" to Facebook to restrict access. Prosecutors had recommended a 10-year prison sentence for Navalny the day before on charges that observers say are politically motivated. Navalny has emerged as a leading figure in the opposition to President Vladimir Putin.
Other pages expressing solidarity with Navalny are still visible, according to the Washington Post. Facebook’s government reports show that the site restricted access to 29 pieces of content in Russia in the first half of this year. Twitter has also blocked some accounts within the country.
A Facebook spokesman declined to comment.
Russian authorities relied on a law passed in February to demand that Facebook take down the Navalny page. The measure allows for inhibiting access to websites that promote "extremist" content or unauthorized mass gatherings.
The Navalny episode is not the first time Facebook has been accused of acceding too readily to the demands of authoritarian governments. When Chinese Internet czar Lu Wei recently visited the Silicon Valley offices of Facebook, Chinese state media reported that company founder Mark Zuckerberg had a copy of President Xi Jinping’s book on his desk. He also reportedly purchased copies of the book for his employees.
Zuckerberg might have been seeking approval from China to grant access to Facebook, which has been banned in the country since 2009. Political opponents of the Communist Party in China panned the efforts.
"Zuckerberg is an Internet genius, the founder of the Facebook empire," prominent dissident Hu Jia told the Telegraph. "Yet his understanding of Chinese politics is like that of a three-year-old not a 30-year-old."
Jinping’s book contains speeches about "socialism with Chinese characteristics." The Chinese leader, condemned by rights activists as the country’s most authoritarian leader in decades, has jailed political opponents and sought to crush all forms of dissent.
Chinese authorities are reluctant to permit access to websites that could facilitate political debate and challenge the Communist Party line.
"What we won’t allow is that you have the market in China, you make money in China, and you are hurting China in the meantime," Lu Wei said in September. "If you are hurting China’s interests, China’s security or you are hurting the interests of Chinese consumers, we won’t allow this to exist."
China also censored social media posts in the country about pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong earlier this year.