A misunderstanding that never happened
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2025 4:12 am
For the public, the meeting between Colin Crowell and Alexander Zharov was remembered mainly formisunderstandingwith the subsequent statements. Journalists invited by Roskomnadzor, citing Zharov, reported that Twitter would appoint a representative in Russia and would block a dozen accounts deemed extremist at the request of the Russian authorities almost tomorrow. This statement was promptly refuted by Twitter (although the publication BuzzFeed reported the refutationcouldn'tname this representative), and it soon turned out that nothing was said about the inevitable blockages in the writtenstatementAlexandra Zharova on the Roskomnadzor website.
As a Twitter representative, who also asked not to be named, told theRunet, there was no misunderstanding between the microblogging service and the Russian regulator. Twitter and Roskomnadzor simply informed each other about the specifics of their work. A Twitter representative, for example, spoke about the differences between his service and other American platforms and why the concept of “three thousand visits,” as prescribed in the law on bloggers, is meaningless when applied to tweets and retweets.
Twitter also clarified its position on blocking content at the request healthcare email database of the authorities of other countries. According to theRunet's source, the company understands that the concept of "freedom of speech" can be interpreted differently in different countries, and the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees it, is valid only on American territory. Therefore, Twitter respects local laws and always takes these laws into account when considering requests to remove this or that content. At the same time, not a single such request is granted automatically: each request is reviewed by a commission, which makes a decision by analyzing many factors (compliance with Twitter's internal rules, etc.).
One of the organizers of the visit, Evgeny Zvedre, Twitter representatives Colin Crowell and Sinead McSweeney
One of the organizers of the visit, Evgeny Zvedre, Twitter representatives Colin Crowell and Sinead McSweeney
Well, in any case, Twitter tries not to block accounts entirely and always requires information on specific tweets that, in the opinion of the state, violate the law. Technology allows the company to block specific tweets in any country, and such blocking is always preferable to a complete blocking of the account.
There is, however, one problem. Roskomnadzor cannot always provide data on specific tweets, simply because it itself receives blocking requests from the prosecutor's office and other agencies. How interaction will be carried out in the event of such difficulties is still unclear: it is expected that all this will be worked out in detail by Roskomnadzor in July.
As a Twitter representative, who also asked not to be named, told theRunet, there was no misunderstanding between the microblogging service and the Russian regulator. Twitter and Roskomnadzor simply informed each other about the specifics of their work. A Twitter representative, for example, spoke about the differences between his service and other American platforms and why the concept of “three thousand visits,” as prescribed in the law on bloggers, is meaningless when applied to tweets and retweets.
Twitter also clarified its position on blocking content at the request healthcare email database of the authorities of other countries. According to theRunet's source, the company understands that the concept of "freedom of speech" can be interpreted differently in different countries, and the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees it, is valid only on American territory. Therefore, Twitter respects local laws and always takes these laws into account when considering requests to remove this or that content. At the same time, not a single such request is granted automatically: each request is reviewed by a commission, which makes a decision by analyzing many factors (compliance with Twitter's internal rules, etc.).
One of the organizers of the visit, Evgeny Zvedre, Twitter representatives Colin Crowell and Sinead McSweeney
One of the organizers of the visit, Evgeny Zvedre, Twitter representatives Colin Crowell and Sinead McSweeney
Well, in any case, Twitter tries not to block accounts entirely and always requires information on specific tweets that, in the opinion of the state, violate the law. Technology allows the company to block specific tweets in any country, and such blocking is always preferable to a complete blocking of the account.
There is, however, one problem. Roskomnadzor cannot always provide data on specific tweets, simply because it itself receives blocking requests from the prosecutor's office and other agencies. How interaction will be carried out in the event of such difficulties is still unclear: it is expected that all this will be worked out in detail by Roskomnadzor in July.