Facebook Owner Meta, Others Asked to Archive Evidence of Russian War Crimes

Four Democratic lawmakers on Thursday requested the CEOs of YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook proprietor Meta to archive content material that may very well be used as proof of suspected Russian struggle crimes in Ukraine.

Ukraine and the West say Russian troops have dedicated struggle crimes in its 11-week invasion of its neighbor, wherein 1000’s of civilians have been killed. Russia denies the allegations and says it doesn’t goal civilians.

In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the lawmakers, together with the leaders of the House Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, Carolyn Maloney, and Gregory Meeks, inspired the corporate to protect content material posted on its websites.

That content material “could potentially be used as evidence as the US government and international human rights and accountability monitors investigate Russian war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other atrocities in Ukraine,” the letter stated.

The letters have been additionally signed by two subcommittee chairmen, William Keating, and Stephen Lynch.

The UN Human Rights Council handed a decision on Thursday to ascertain an investigation into potential struggle crimes by Russian troops in locations close to the capital Kyiv and past, a transfer that Russia stated amounted to political score-settling.

Meanwhile, Facebook mum or dad Meta Platforms stated on Wednesday it has withdrawn a request for coverage steerage from its Oversight Board concerning the content material moderation of posts associated to Russia’s ongoing struggle with Ukraine.

“This decision was not made lightly — the PAO (policy advisory opinion) was withdrawn due to ongoing safety and security concerns,” the corporate stated in a weblog put up.

The board, which might make binding selections on particular thorny content material moderation appeals and provides coverage suggestions, stated it was “disappointed” by the choice.

A Meta spokesman declined to provide extra details about the insurance policies on which it was in search of steerage or concerning the particular issues.

Russia banned social media platforms Facebook and Instagram in March, discovering Meta responsible of “extremist activity” amid Moscow’s crackdown on social media throughout its invasion of Ukraine. Meta’s messaging service WhatsApp shouldn’t be affected by the ban. Russia has additionally throttled Twitter by slowing its service.

© Thomson Reuters 2022