Russia will block Twitter within a month unless the social media giant complies with a demand to remove banned content, Russian news agencies quoted a senior regulator official as saying on Tuesday.
Moscow said last week that it had slowed down Twitter inside Russia in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove a specific list of prohibited content.
Twitter said at the time that it was concerned about the impact on freedom of expression of the Russian action and denied that it allowed its platform to be used to promote illegal behavior as alleged by Russian authorities.
In a move that intensifies the growing standoff, Vadim Subbotin, deputy director of Roskomnadzor, the communications watchdog, was quoted on Tuesday as saying that Twitter had not yet addressed Russian concerns and would be blocked in Russia within a month unless did it.
“Twitter is not responding to our requests as it should. If the situation continues, it will be blocked in a month without a court order,” Interfax news agency quoted Subbotin as saying.
He added that Twitter could still avoid being blocked if it took steps to remove banned content, which Moscow says includes child pornography and material about illegal drugs and child suicide.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
