Telegram seems to have blocked Ria Novosti and some other Russian propaganda outlets' channels in the EU. The grounds are not immediately clear. The outlets are sanctioned since May 2024, but the sanctions target their "broadcast operations" in the EU. Would be interesting to know why Telegram is doing this now. In Sweden I can still access Ria Novosti on the web, as I should. Sure, it is Russian state propaganda, but I do need to read it from time to time.
Interestingly, only the main Ria Novosti channel is blocked. I can still access Ria Novosti Sport, Ria Novosti USA, Ria Novosti Crimea, for example. Maybe those channels have not yet violated Swedish legislation?
@kallekn I have big doubts on censoring any political (propaganda) channels. Freedom of speech (publishing) is a very important human right. Applying censorship is a step on the path that oppressive regimes go. Let's keep values of human rights high, and not go on that path.
I'm fine with e.g. not federating with propaganda outlets, but not by mandatory total blocking forced by governments.
@janvlug As I said, it is not immediately clear why this is happening. Could be Telegram overcomplying, but it sets a bad precedent. As far as I know they are not blocking independent Russian language media in Russia yet, but that might be the next step.
@kallekn I'm not against Telegram banning certain accounts. I think each platform should take its own responsibility in preventing the spreading of fake news and propaganda. But I do think that governments should be very reluctant in enforcing the banning of certain outlets. Although I'm not against sanctions, which might have the same effect. It is a complicated matter, but we should be able to inform ourselves, also about what is on propaganda channels. An who decides what is propaganda?
@janvlug However, Telegram is saying "This channel can't be displayed because it violated local laws (Sweden)." So Telegram is explicitly NOT taking responsibility for the decision to block the Ria Novosti channel, but claims it is banned by Swedish law, which I very much doubt.
@kallekn Interesting to see how now the responsibility for censoring is becoming vague. Self censorship is a bad effect that is seen at large scale in countries with repressive regimes, but also more and more in free societies. Internet surveillance is a related concern in this context, because it can inflict self censorship.