Facebook blocks Sputnik and RT pages in the EU

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, blocked Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik throughout the European Union, the company said on Monday. The change means that RT and Sputnik pages are not visible in the EU on Facebook and Instagram, Meta spokesman Andy Stone tells The Verge.

"We have received requests from a number of Governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media," Nick Clegg, the company's newly-named president of global affairs, said Monday on Twitter. "Given the exceptional nature of the current situation, we will be restricting access to RT and Sputnik across the EU at this time."

The change is the latest Meta has made in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Sunday, Clegg said the company had limited access to "several accounts" in Ukraine, "including those belonging to some Russian state media organizations." The action announced on Monday goes further by limiting access to two major outlets across the EU.

The company also blocked advertising from Russian state media on the platform and took down a Russian disinformation network that distributed fake news about the invasion. However, Russia partially blocked access to Facebook, and Clegg said on Sunday that Russia has been "throttling" his platform. Russia has also blocked access to Twitter.