Facebook will undergo a more detailed check into its compliance with the Russian law in the second half of 2018 than Twitter, chief of Russia’s telecom and IT watchdog Alexander Zharov told reporters on Tuesday.
The Russian communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, will check whether Twitter is in compliance with the law that requires websites to store the personal data of Russian citizens on Russian servers.
“The mechanism is obvious and clear for us, but in regard to the Twitter company – since we have an official letter from the company that in the first half of 2018 the users’ personal data will be stored on the Russian territory – the check will be carried out only into this,” he said.
“As for Facebook, the check will be more comprehensive,” Zharov said, according to state-owned TASS news agency.
The watchdog’s chief noted that earlier this month a meeting had been held with Facebook’s representatives to discuss compliance with the Russian law.
“Many aspects were discussed there: storing data on the Russian territory, whether the company has an office in Russia or not, removing unlawful content in line with the Russian legislation by all social networks part of Facebook’s community and finally, clarification on deleting the accounts of Russian users by Facebook,” Zharov said.
The decision to scrutinize Facebook comes as the social network faces a backlash in the U.S. over allowing Russian ‘troll farms’ to use the site’s weaknesses to influence the 2016 U.S. elections.
On Monday, an indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller, who oversees an ongoing investigation into alleged foreign electoral intervention by Russia, named 13 Russian citizens and several companies. According to the charges, they used fake accounts on Facebook and Twitter to spread disinformation, sway public opinion and promote rallies. The “strategic goal” was “to sow discord in the U.S. political system.”
