MOSCOW, Russia (CelebrityAccess) — Russia’s communication regulators have launched administrative proceedings against Facebook and Twitter, claiming the social media giants failed to comply with local data laws.
According to Interfax, Roskomnadzor, the regulatory body, said that the two companies failed to explain when and how they intended to comply with laws requiring them to store the personal information of Russian citizens on servers hosted in that country.
“The companies managing the social networks of Facebook and Twitter provided formal answers to our demands to confirm the localization of personal data of Russian users in Russia,” a rep for Roskomnadzor told CNBC.
“They do not contain specifics about the actual implementation of the legislation at the current moment, nor about the timing of the implementation of these standards in the future.”
New legislation in Russia allows the government to block web services that offshores the personal data of Russian citizens. The legislation also enables Roskomnadzor to impose fines on firms that fail to comply with Russia’s data laws.
A Facebook spokesperson told CNBC that the company was in contact with Russian regulators about the issue, while a rep for Twitter declined to comment.
