Next week supporters of Alexei Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption crusader currently under house arrest in Russia, are planning a rally that the Kremlin would really rather not happen. So, to that end, the government has begun issuing block orders to the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Google to keep information about the rally offline. But, the companies don’t appear to be inclined to comply… at least, not any more.
Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Google Inc. have started resisting Russian government orders to remove information about a rally next month in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, raising the prospect of a showdown over the Kremlin’s efforts to control online information. In response to a request from Russian prosecutors, Roskomnadzor, the country’s communications regulator, began issuing block orders for Russia just hours after the Moscow rally was publicized on social media late last week, officials said. Facebook honored the initial order last weekend and blocked a page promoting the event, but others were quickly created, attracting more attention.