Russian Foreign Ministry says Twitter no longer independent social media, but a tool of 'digital diktat' under control of West

Twitter is rapidly changing from an independent platform into a tool of Western countries to impose a dictatorship over the internet. That's according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, following a recent ban of Russian accounts.

Speaking on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova blasted the US tech giant for removing 100 accounts allegedly linked to the Kremlin. On Tuesday, the site's owners announced that 69 were deleted for "undermining faith in the NATO alliance," with a further 31 banned for "targeting the United States and European Union."

"We once again can't help but notice that Twitter is rapidly degenerating from an independent discussion platform into a tool of global digital diktat in the hands of the Western establishment," she told journalists, noting that accounts from NATO members haven't been victims of similar operations.

"Assumptions and unproven insinuations were once again presented as justifications," she continued. "The reasoning in Twitter's own report is absurd: the accounts allegedly broadcast messages related to the Russian government, undermined trust in NATO, and influenced the United States and the EU."

In her opinion, the blocks were "arbitrary" and "illegal," based on "opaque criteria."

Following the ban, Russian regulator Roskomnadzor wrote to Twitter to demand a list of the blocked accounts and justifications for why Twitter blocked them.

On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested the creation of national and international rules to regulate social networks to avoid censorship.

"We are increasingly concerned about the non-transparent policies of social media platforms, which, at their discretion, prohibit or censor user content, openly manipulating public opinion," he said.

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