Russia will cut off access to Instagram

Instagram will soon be inaccessible in Russia, according to regulator Roskomnadzor. The latest ban is in response to Facebook “temporarily” changing its rules to allows for calls for violence against Russian soldiers and Vladimir Putin.

Though Facebook has been “restricted” in the country for more than a week, the ban didn’t extend to Instagram. State news agency TASS reported earlier that Russian lawmakers had called for that to change, though, in response to the company’s updated policy. The state prosecutor also reportedly asked for Facebook-owner Meta to be labeled an “extremist organization” and the Russian government opened a criminal investigation into the company, according toCNBC.  

Now, the state regulator Roskomnadzor says that it will move to cut off access to the photo sharing app on March 14th. “Messages are circulating on the Instagram social network encouraging and provoking violent acts against Russians, in connection with which the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office demanded that Roskomnadzor restrict access to this social network,” Roskomnadzor posted on its Telegram account. “Roskomnadzor decided to complete the procedure for imposing restrictions on access to Instagram at 00:00 on March 14, providing users with an additional 48 hours of transition period.”

Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A company spokesperson said Thursday that it had changed its rules around violent speech in order to allow for more “forms of political expression.”

In a statement, Meta’s President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg didn’t address the impending ban of Instagram, but did address the recent rule change, calling it “a temporary decision taken in extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances.” 

“The fact is, if we applied our standard content policies without any adjustments we would now be removing content from ordinary Ukrainians expressing their resistance and fury at the invading military forces, which would rightly be viewed as unacceptable,” Clegg wrote. “There is no change at all in our policies on hate speech as far as the Russian people are concerned.” 

Update 3/11 6:50pm ET: Instagram’s top executive, Adam Mosseri, also weighed in on the ban, calling it “wrong” to cut off 80 million users in the country.

Facebook will ‘temporarily’ allow Ukrainians to call for the death of Putin and Russian soldiers

Facebook is changing a rule that prohibits users from calling for violence in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The change, which was first reported byReuters, allows people in Ukraine and a handful of other countries “to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion.” People in Ukraine, Poland and Russia are also permitted to “call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.”

Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement that the company was “temporarily” allowing some posts that in the past would have been taken down under the company’s rules prohibiting inciting violence. He added that the company won’t allow “credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.” The company will also take down specific credible threats against Putin and Lukashenko, according to a memo reported by Reuters.

“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders,’” Stone said. “We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”

Russia has responded to the rule changing, saying that Washington must stop the “extremist activities” of Meta, Reuters has reported. 

The change underscores just how much social media platforms are rushing to adapt their content policies amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Facebook has already taken several steps to limit the influence of Russian state media outlets and took down a network of fake accounts boosting pro-Russia propaganda. The Russian government has responded by banning Facebook.

Update 3/10/2022 2:20 AM ET: The article has been updated with Russia’s response to Meta’s new rule, reported by Reuters.

EU tells Google to delist Russian state media websites from search

The European Commission has sent Google a request to remove Russian state media results for searches performed in countries within the EU. As The Washington Post reports, Google has uploaded a letter from EU officials to a database of government requests. In it, the officials explain how the commission’s official order to ban the broadcast of RT and Sputnik in the European Union also applies to search engines and internet companies in general.

If you’ll recall, the commission issued a ban on the state media outlets a few days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said back then that by doing so, the outlets “will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war.” While it wasn’t quite clear how the order applies to internet companies, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok promptly restricted access to RT and Sputnik across Europe. Google also announced its own restrictions, but only for the outlets’ YouTube channels.

In the letter Google has uploaded, officials explained that search engines play a major role in disseminating content and that if the company doesn’t delist the outlets, it would facilitate the public’s access to them. Part of the letter reads:

“The activity of search engines plays a decisive role in the overall dissemination of content in that it renders the latter accessible to any internet user making a search on the basis of the content indication or related terms, including to internet users who otherwise would not have found the web page on which that content is published…Consequently, if search engines such as Google did not delist RT and Sputnik, they would facilitate the public’s access to the content of RT and Sputnik, or contribute to such access. 

It follows from the foregoing that by virtue of the Regulation, providers of Internet search services must make sure that i) any link to the Internet sites of RT and Sputnik and ii) any content of RT and Sputnik, including short textual descriptions, visual elements and links to the corresponding websites do not appear in the search results delivered to users located in the EU.”

Google didn’t return The Post’s request for comment, but the publication says a search conducted within the EU didn’t bring up links for “Russia Today.” RT links still showed up for us, however, when we conducted searches using Google Austria and France. 

The letter also said that the order applies to “posts made by individuals that reproduce the content of RT and Sputnik” — for example, screenshots of articles from those outlets — and that social networks must delete those posts if they get published. That could create a deluge of additional work for social media websites already struggling to moderate content posted by their users. According to The Post, though, the actual sanctions law doesn’t define the order in the way that’s written in the letter, so the officials’ interpretation could be challenged in court. 

Ukraine may move its top-secret data and servers abroad

Fears that Russia could steal top-secret government documents has caused Ukrainian authorities to explore potentially moving its data and servers to another country, reportedReuters. While the original plan is still to protect the country’s IT infrastructure, moving the most sensitive data to another location is a viable Plan B, Victor Zhora— the deputy chief of Ukraine’s information protection arm—told the news service.

Ukraine has already faced a litany of aggressive cyberattacks from the neighboring nation, including last month’s penetration of its military and energy networks. Russia also attempted to interfere with Ukraine’s 2014 presidential election and regularly launches attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, leading to outages that last for days. 

The Ukrainian government made the precautionary move of migrating its computer systems in Kyiv in 2014, following Russia’s occupation of Crimea. Ukrainian cyber teams have developed plans to disable infrastructure and transfer back-ups if its networks become compromised, Zhora told Politico.

But the fact that Ukraine’s most sensitive data is centralized in Kyiv presents a problem if Russia’s military occupies the capital. At the time of publication, Russian troops are currently encircling Kyiv, and experts estimate they could attack the city within days. Ukraine is already moving some sensitive data and servers to remote areas, out of Russia’s reach. 

Ukraine hasn’t released details on where it might attempt to relocate its sensitive governmental data, but shifting it to an allied nation might provide more than just physical distance from Russian’s military. Reuters reported that cyberattacks against said data, were it stored within the borders of an ally nation, might trigger NATO’s collective defense clause, which requires all member nations to respond if one is attacked.

For now, Ukraine’s Parliament still has to give its seal of approval before the nation’s sensitive data can be moved.

California can once again set its own emissions rules, EPA says

California can now set its own emission standards under the Clean Air Act, the EPA announced today. The decision puts an end to a feud that began when automakers pushed the Trump administration to revisit fuel efficiency rules, which eventually led the former president to revoke California’s waiver to declare its own standards in 2019. California is known for pushing stricter emissions requirements than the federal government, standards which have also been adopted by 16 other states and Washington, D.C. 

“Today we proudly reaffirm California’s longstanding authority to lead in addressing pollution from cars and trucks,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. “Our partnership with states to confront the climate crisis has never been more important. With today’s action, we reinstate an approach that for years has helped advance clean technologies and cut air pollution for people not just in California, but for the U.S. as a whole.”

The EPA also confirmed that other states can once again adopt California’s standards. As the LA Times reports, the EPA decision means that California can continue with its plan to ban sales of gasoline vehicles by 2035. In January, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $10 billion plan to accelerate EV adoption, with a focus on making EVs more accessible for low-income consumers, building out more charging infrastructure and electrifying the state’s fleet of vehicles.

Judge rules voting machine maker Smartmatic can proceed with its lawsuit against Fox News

A judge has ruled that voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic can proceed with a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and Rudy Giuliani. The company has accused them and others of making false claims that it rigged votes in favor of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Fox News parent Fox Corp, anchor Maria Bartiromo, former anchor Lou Dobbs, The Five host Jeanine Pirro and ex-Donald Trump lawyer Sidney Powell all tried to have Smartmatic’s claims against them dismissed. Justice David Cohen of New York State Supreme Court dismissed the claims against Pirro and Powell, though rejected the bids from Fox Corp, Bartiromo and Dobbs.

Smartmatic claimed Fox News made up a story about helping Biden to steal the presidency from Trump to boost ratings. A lawyer for the company said Fox News caused “catastrophic damage” to Smartmatic’s business and reputation, according to Reuters.

Cohen ruled that Fox News “turned a blind eye to a litany of outrageous claims about [Smartmatic], unprecedented in the history of American elections, so inherently improbable that it evinced a reckless disregard for the truth.” He also said Giuliani accused Smartmatic of rigging elections in Venezuela and claimed it engaged in “old tricks” in the presidential election, which provided grounds for Smartmatic to proceed with some of its claims against the former Trump lawyer.

Fox News called Smartmatic’s claims “baseless,” adding that it’s “gratified that Judge Cohen dismissed Smartmatic’s claims against Jeanine Pirro.” It plans to appeal Cohen’s ruling “immediately,” and counterclaim for fees and costs to “prevent the full-blown assault on the First Amendment” that it perceives the lawsuit to be.

In December, a judge dismissed an attempt by Fox News to toss out a lawsuit by another voting machine maker. Dominion Voting Systems has accused Fox News of defamation in its $1.6 billion suit.

Update 3/10 11:24AM ET: Added more context regarding Fox News’ statement.

Elon Musk wants to reverse his $20 million SEC settlement

Elon Musk isn’t backing down in his rejuvenated campaign against the SEC. Ars Technicareports the Tesla chief has asked a federal court to terminate his $20 million settlement with the SEC in 2018 over claims the regulator both pressured him into an agreement and overstepped its limits. Musk felt “forced” to sign the consent decree at a time when Tesla’s financial health was at risk, according to the memorandum of law sent to the court. The EV executive also insisted in a declaration that he told the truth in tweets at the heart of the dispute — he maintained he really had been considering taking Tesla private and had secured funding.

Musk also characterized the SEC’s approach as “governmental abuse.” Officials were allegedly using the agreement to police Musk’s First Amendment free speech rights by requiring that he pass tweets through an approved monitor who would determine what he could say. The SEC has also made compliance “more onerous” than the settlement originally demanded, Musk’s attorney argued. The Commission supposedly interpreted the consent decree as granting powers it didn’t previously have, letting it issue subpoenas and otherwise conduct “never-ending investigations.”

Musk further called for an order determining that a November 2021 subpoena over insider trading allegations exceeded the SEC’s authority and was issued in “bad faith.” The Twitter poll in question was just meant to gather input, Musk claimed, and not a disclosure of information the exec would have to report to the SEC. The Commission is investigating whether or not Musk’s brother Kimbal was aware of the impending poll when he sold Tesla shares one day earlier.

The entrepreneur has routinely sparred with the SEC. He was teasing the agency mere days after announcing the 2018 settlement, and declared he could tweet what he wanted. Most recently, he and Tesla accused the SEC of mounting a “harassment campaign” to stifle his criticism of the government. The two contended the SEC couldn’t issue subpoenas without requiring court approval.

Musk might not want to count on victory, however. The court rejected the previous demands, arguing they weren’t specific enough. This latest effort is more focused, but it also hinges on the court accepting Musk’s version of events — and that’s far from guaranteed.

Biden’s executive order on cryptocurrency opens the door for a US coin

The US government has addressed cryptocurrency in the past, but now it’s taking a more comprehensive look. President Biden has signed an executive order detailing the country’s first “whole-of-government” strategy for exploring cryptocurrency and other digital assets. Officials at multiple bureaus will explore the risks and potential advantages of crypto, both for individuals and the nation at large.

The Treasury Department and partners will recommend policies to protect people and businesses, including enough regulation to protect against “systemic financial risks.” The Financial Stability Oversight Council, meanwhile, will help pinpoint economy-level dangers and suggest policies to match. On a broader level, government agencies will aim to “mitigate” risks of illegal activity and national security threats. The solution includes cooperation with international allies.

The strategy also sees cryptocurrency as a competitive tool, however. Biden’s order will establish “urgency” in researching and possibly creating a central bank-backed digital currency, including cooperation with the Federal Reserve and “experimentation” with other countries. The Commerce Department will create a framework to help spur American leadership in digital assets, while the wider government will foster development of digital assets that maintain equitability, privacy, security and minimal environmental impact.

The Biden administration was clear on its goals. The order is meant to steer cryptocurrency and digital goods in a way that’s “consistent with our democratic values,” according to NEC Director Brian Deese and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. That is, it would help the US maintain a leading position in global finance without jeopardizing economic stability or worsening inequality.

The executive order promises to give the US a more unified and aggressive approach to cryptocurrency. Previously, it took a more reactive stance where regulators would crack down on illegal activity by applying existing rules to digital assets. Theoretically, this could lead to the creation of an official “digital dollar” and otherwise clear the way for crypto to further enter the mainstream.

With that said, the order is relatively short on firm policies, and doesn’t establish timelines. There are no guarantees this will lead to concrete action, at least not in the near future. Still, the US government hasn’t taken a holistic view of cryptocurrency before — it’s a start, even if there’s much more ground left to cover.

Senator Elizabeth Warren drafts bill to target use of crypto by sanctioned Russians

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is preparing a bill in response to fears that Russian nationals may be using cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. The draft legislation, first reported by NBC, would require banks and other financial institutions to both identify customers and transfers to private wallets, and regularly report information to the Treasury Department. But crypto firms insist that there’s no evidence of sanctions evasion on their exchanges.

“Criminals can use cryptocurrency to move money in the shadows, opening a door for Putin & his cronies to evade economic sanctions,”Warren wrote in a tweet Tuesday afternoon. “I want answers from @USTreasury on how they’ll ensure crypto doesn’t undermine our response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

While the bill’s text hasn’t been released yet, NBC reports that one of the provisions is identical to a proposed Treasury Department rule that requires banks to regularly identify suspicious transactions that it believes is linked to sanctions evasion. If passed, the legislation would codify the rule.

Lawmakers are worried that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control lacks the muscle to hunt down crypto criminals. A letter by Warren and three other Senate Democrats asks the Treasury Department to list ways it plans to counter sanctions evasions through crypto platforms, including how it plans to work with foreign governments. The senators also detailed the methods they suspect Russians are using to skirt sanctions, including using the dark web to move funds, ransomware attacks and the Bank of Russia’s new digital ruble.

In the wake of 9/11, the passage of the PATRIOT Act required banks and financial institutions to adopt customer identification programs. Requiring banks to disclose suspicious transactions into private crypto wallets is not without precedent, even if it’s disagreeable to some parties.

The cryptocurrency industry, which largely views anonymity (or at least lack of government intervention) as one of its central tenets, understandably is less than enthusiastic. While Coinbase, Binance and Kraken are cooperating with government officials to make sure individuals targeted by sanctions aren’t using their platforms, they have refused to ban Russian accounts altogether.

Crypto platforms also argue that widespread Russian sanctions evasion simply isn’t happening. One example: Coinbase recently announced that it blocked 25,000 crypto addresses it believed to belong to Russians engaging in illegal activity, but also added that it identified the majority of them before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, the Coinbase said it didn’t notice a surge of new illicit activity following sanctions on Russia.

Blockchain data platform Chainalysis noted a considerable tick in crypto transactions using the Russian ruble and the Ukrainian hryvnia in the last week of February, just as Russia advanced on Ukraine. Still, the platform was quick to point out that the surge in potentially illicit trading could also be due to average Ukrainian and Russians buying crypto in order to preserve their savings while both fiat currencies lose value.

Russia bans Zello’s walkie-talkie app

Russia’s ongoing campaign to block social apps during the invasion of Ukraine now includes voice clients. ZDNetreports Russia’s telecom regulator Roskomnadzor has banned the walkie-talkie app Zello over claims users were spreading “false information” about the invasion (which Russia falsely labels a “special operation”). Officials said they asked Zello to block transmissions of the offending messages on March 4th, but that it “did not comply” with the request.

Russia blocked Zello in 2017 after it didn’t obey a 2016 law requiring storage of user and chat data inside the country. Zello defied the move, developing a workaround that kept the software usable. The app has been popular among protesters despite its work-oriented focus. Before the invasion of Ukraine, vaccine mandate opponents in Canada and elsewhere used Zello to coordinate their protests.

The crackdown was virtually expected. Russia has rushed to cut access to numerous major social platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, while also making it illegal for media outlets to share anything beyond the Putin administration’s official narrative on Ukraine. Zello has also surged in popularity since the invasion started. The ban theoretically helps Russia silence political dissent, especially when it involves coordination between Ukrainians and sympathetic Russians.