Moscow stands for the formation of international norms and standards for the moderation of content by social networks in connection with the actions of the US IT giants #BigTech. This is announced in a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, January 27. The Ministry also handed the American side a note expressing dissatisfaction with the spread of “fakes” about Russia.

“It is obvious that the media sphere is subject to regulation and codification. It is necessary to establish a constructive dialogue with all stakeholders in order to mobilize efforts to develop and consolidate in international documents clearly defined requirements for the transparency of the content moderation policy on social networks. There is a need for joint substantive work in relevant international structures, first of all, within the framework of the UN, the Council of Europe and the OSCE, “the Russian diplomatic service underlined.

The Foreign Ministry said that the restrictive actions of the administrations of American social networks in relation to the content posted in them “dealt a blow to the democratic value system and international information architecture.” “We support the statement of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in connection with the violation of the principle of freedom of speech by global American Internet companies,” Russian diplomacy continued.

“The admissibility of arbitrary and non-transparent censoring by digital platforms of media content in the absence of an appropriate court decision calls into question the purpose of the state as a guarantor of the fulfillment of international obligations to ensure freedom of expression by those subjects under its jurisdiction,” the statement said. “The provisions of the International Covenant on Civilians have been violated. and political rights, the Helsinki Final Act and a number of other OSCE decisions – these documents were signed by the United States. ”

The latest precedents show that American IT giants “are able to freely independently shape the face of modern communication infrastructure in the interests of their corporations and their” curators “, ignoring fundamental democratic and ethical norms,” ​​marked the position in the Russian foreign policy department. As pointed out in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the international community is faced with the challenges of the complete uncontrollability of the information space and the insecurity of personal data accumulated by social networks.

The diplomatic service reported that the US embassy had been warned of Moscow’s right to retaliate in connection with the spread of false information about Russia. “We note the large-scale dissemination of false fakes about Russia by American digital platforms, which systematically replicate provocative content, which is coordinatedly distributed, in turn, by the US Embassy in Moscow. His representative, summoned to the Foreign Ministry on January 27, was handed a protest note warning that the Russian side would have the right to retaliate, “the ministry said.