Vladimir Putin Drags Twitter, Facebook And TikTok To Court

President Vladimir Putin sues social media for instigating riots (IndianExpress)

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin is reportedly going to file a lawsuit against five social media, namely Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google, and Telegram. The Russian government accused the five platforms of refusing to remove posts that provoked children to take part in a protest.

During the protest, they demanded the release of Alexei Navalny, an activist who often criticizes Putin's government.

If the five platforms are found to have committed violations, they will be subjected to sanctions of up to 4 million rubles (approximately IDR 756 million). Until now, the lawsuit is in process and the trial will take place on April 2.

Previously, there had been massive demonstrations in Russia as a result of the government detaining Navalny. After going to Germany, then returning to Moscow, Navalny was officially detained on January 17.

In 2014, Navalny was accused of embezzlement. He was also claimed to have violated the terms of the suspended 3 and a half years. To date, the prosecuted social media platform has not commented on the lawsuit from the Russian government.

Navalny went to Germany for medical treatment for the nerve substance poisoning he experienced last summer while in Russia. Navalny has publicly accused President Putin of being the mastermind behind his assassination plot. The Kremlin has emphatically denied the accusations.

Navalny's return to Moscow gave local authorities the opportunity to throw him behind bars. This action sparked massive unrest against President Putin's government.

As a result of the demonstration, the security forces were forced to detain about five thousand people. It is rumored that they are a group of Navalny loyalists. The detention of Navalny made the United States government (US) comment on the incident. The US regrets that the Russian authorities carried out such an assassination plan.

"Overall, as the president said, we are reviewing all these actions which are of deep concern to us whether it is the treatment of Mr. Navalny and in particular the use of chemical weapons in an attempt to kill him", said US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.