Russia is making a stand against "fake news" by issuing a new law that will severely punish offenders. This led to news outlets and social platforms suspending their services in the country. Unfortunately for fans, TikTok is included in the list.
Russia and Ukraine are still locked in a disagreement, and the consequence of their fights are slowly affecting the lifestyle of their citizens. More recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin just signed a law that aims to regulate information spreading throughout the country.
Sources from The Verge explain the details of this sudden development.
Russia 'Fake News' Law: Harsh Punishments Revealed
It is worth mentioning that in 2019, Putin already signed a "fake news" law that demands fines and jail time for information that disrespect the Russian government. Back then, the service time penalty was only around 15 days.
Now the same law is coming back with upgraded consequences. The new bill said that spreading false information about the country and its military can be punishable with up to 15 years of imprisonment. The bill emphasized that courts will deliver the "harshest sentences" for fake news that can cause "serious consequences."
To clarify, the law is criticizing information related to its invasion of Ukraine. The law also reproaches faulty reports about external death counts, number of casualties, and other related statistics reports.
The law suggests that information like this can create a serious misunderstanding of the real situation. So to avoid serious consequences, the Russian government decided to hold news outlets and social platforms accountable for the information they spread.
Notably, these led to an unfortunate development.
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TikTok Suspends Livestreaming and Services
Many news outlets and social platforms probably decided to avoid direct confrontation against the Russian government, which is why they moved to suspend their broadcasting in the country.
According to Twitter user Vanessa Beeley, networks like CNN, CBS News, Bloomberg. ABC News, BBC, and CBC have already closed their networks in Russia.
After the Russian government’s signing in of its anti-fake-news law, these networks have stopped broadcasting from #Russia:
— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) March 5, 2022
1. CNN
2. CBS News
3 Bloomberg
4. ABC News
5. BBC
6. CBC
More recently, TikTok also announced its services are partially shutting down. Officials explained in their Twitter thread that "TikTok is an outlet for creativity and entertainment that can provide a source of relief and human connection... however, the safety of our employees and our users remain our highest priority."
1/ TikTok is an outlet for creativity and entertainment that can provide a source of relief and human connection during a time of war when people are facing immense tragedy and isolation. However, the safety of our employees and our users remain our highest priority.
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) March 6, 2022
The social media giant said they had "no choice but to suspend live streaming and new content" on their video services. TikTok said they would be keeping an eye on Russian developments to determine when they can resume their services. Unfortunately for fans, this announcement did not specify a timeframe, so it is hard to determine an exact date.
3/ We will continue to evaluate the evolving circumstances in Russia to determine when we might fully resume our services with safety as our top priority. More about our ongoing efforts here: https://t.co/Whwn5KwXmj
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) March 6, 2022
It should be emphasized that TikTok in-app messages will continue to work despite this development. This means TikTok users will still retain some accessibility to their accounts. However, it is hard to imagine this will be enough to represent the entertainment factor that TikTok once used to promote.
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