Facebook (FB) has been caught in the middle of a debate in Russia after blocking a page on its website.
Facebook blocked a page that called for a demonstration on Jan. 15 near the Kremlin to support Aleksei A. Navalny. Navalny stands against the Kremlina and has ran for mayor of Moscow. The page was removed following a request by Roskomnadzor, which is the monitor of the internet for the Russian government, reports The New York Times.
The demonstration page that Facebook blocked had over 12,000 people sign up to attend the event. The page was deleted because it supported an “unsanctioned mass event.” The social media website was criticized for taking the page down so quickly without looking more into the situation, NYT notes.
“Navalny is dangerous for Putin as he’s a popular figure, and now that the economy is in crisis, people who felt quite secure a few months ago today are desperate,” Alexei Makarkin, the deputy head of Center for Political Technologies, told Bloomberg.
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