Home
Russia's Most Popular Social Network Just Sent 20,000 Users a Private Message From the Government
Posted 8 November 2015 18:11 GMT
Image edited by Kevin Rothrock.
One of Russia’s most popular online social networks, Vkontakte, has sent a private message from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to users who accessed the service in Egypt anytime in the past two weeks.
Vkontakte’s press secretary, Georgy Lobushkin, told the website TJournal.ru that roughly 20,000 users received messages from the government containing information about returning to Russia from Egypt, after President Vladimir Putin suspended all air traffic between Russia and Egypt late last week, due to concerns that terrorists are responsible for the October 31 crash of a passenger flight in the mountainous area of central Sinai.
“We took all the Vkontakte users who have logged into the site from Egypt in the past two weeks,” Lobushkin said, “and, with the help of our new messaging service, sent them all a message from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.” Vkontakte says it merely geolocated all users with recent activity in Egypt, contacting them on behalf of the Russian government, whether they were tourists or permanent residents. There was “no additional targeting,” Lobushkin explained.
The message directs individuals to a government website and toll-free phone numbers for information about returning home to Russia. Passengers are only being allowed carry-on luggage, and the Russian Postal Service is responsible for shipping back larger items. The message was identical for everyone who received it, meaning the text was not personalized, though the messages were sent “privately” (landing in users’ personal inboxes.)
For years, Vkontakte’s critics have accused the service of having a dangerously close relationship with the Russian authorities. While fears about governments’ influence over online social networks are nothing unique to Vkontakte or Russia, concerns about Vkontakte specifically have steadily risen in recent years, following Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012 and the ouster from the company of founder and CEO Pavel Durov, who regularly publicized his defiance of the government’s efforts to control Vkontakte.
The Foreign Ministry’s official spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, told TJournal that officials appealed to Vkontakte for help with its efforts to provide Russians in Egypt with information about the state’s repatriation efforts. “It’s certainly been efficient,” Zakharova said. “We needed to send out a mass alert, and that is what we’ve accomplished. This wasn’t our only option, but as one of our options it proved to be the most efficient: even if just 15 percent of the messages reached individuals, this instrument was worth using.”
Zakharova also said that the Russian government has failed to convince Facebook to send out a similar message to its users, citing an absence of direct contact between Russian officials and Facebook’s administrators:
We’ve got almost no direct contact with Facebook at all. Any decisions take a long time and it’s all done indirectly. That’s their policy. Vkontakte has a different policy—it’s direct and there are people who make decisions. And those decisions are made very quickly. Our experience of cooperation with other social networks simply doesn’t compare—and that’s not because they’re foreign companies and it’s not because we want to praise a Russian company.
If nationwide surveys are any indication, the Russian public is not widely opposed to government interventions on the Internet. In September 2014, a poll by the Levada Center showed that only 37 percent of the country opposed the recent slew of federal laws restricting Russians’ access to an unfiltered World Wide Web. Though fewer Russians expressed support for censorship of the Internet in 2014 than two years earlier, more than half (54 percent) still broadly endorsed such policing.
https://globalvoices.org/2015/11/08/russias-most-popular-social-network-just-sent-20000-users-a-private-message-from-the-russian-government/
» utube MM&C 4/16/24 IQD Update - Iraq Dinar - America - Activate - Massive Economic Deals -
» utube MM&c 4/19/24 Iraqi Dinar - Private Sector - Economic Stability - Financial Reform - Al Sudan
» Iraq officially signs the “Singapore” agreement to resolve trade disputes
» Parliament Finance advises raising exchange rates again... What about oil revenues?
» Al-Sudani: Iraq is in the process of recovery and has taken its leading position that attracts work
» Al-Araji: Iraq is prepared to deal with all circumstances and seeks partnership with the United Stat
» Sudanese from Michigan: The government represents all components and is keen to take care of the aff
» Democratic Party: The "new generation" is the most corrupt and has dozens of cases in court
» What is the benefit of Iraq establishing a petrochemical plant in Egypt?!.. An oil expert explains
» A judicial delegation participates in the Permanent International Forum for Commercial Courts in Qat
» Al-Sudani: The government follows a balanced policy that makes Iraq a station for security
» Deduction of 160 million dinars from the salaries of MPs absent from Parliament sessions
» Central Bank: Washington praised Iraq's measures to resolve 80% of the financial transfer file
» Voices of Resilience: Al-Sudani’s frankness embarrasses the White House
» Al-Alaq confirms the formation of a committee between Baghdad and Washington regarding sanctions on
» Former MP: The Democrat will not hand over power after the regional elections
» Document/allocation of 20% of the lands of Al-Jawahiri Complex to employees of the Ministry of Defen
» Al-Hakim: Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington was a protocol and missed the two most important files
» Parliamentary Security: The National Security Service law will be voted on by Parliament soon
» Reconstruction and Housing: Zarbatieh residential project completed by 82%
» Al-Sudani reveals an intention to establish Al-Faw refinery with a capacity of 300 thousand barrels
» Government readiness to move the Doura refinery to an alternative location.. What are the conditions
» Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington.. Implications and results
» Association of Iraqi Private Banks: The suspension of some electronic payment services yesterday was
» Parliamentary memorandum.. Two solutions were before the Federal Court instead of removing the compo
» Blue fuel... Iraqi steps towards inexhaustible wealth for a century
» For fear of being "upset"... MPs "evade" signing to host Al-Sudani in Parliament
» Al-Sudani’s statement to convert 40% of Iraq’s exports into derivatives.. What does it have to do wi
» An Iraqi-American partnership to benefit from oil field gas
» The Minister of Commerce announces the distribution of the first payments of farmers’ dues for the 2
» Sudanese to members of the Iraqi community in the American city of Houston: Iraq has regained its he
» Romanski announces loans worth $50 million to support the Iraqi private sector
» Prime Minister: We plan to invest production capacities for export
» “Something happened” in Iran and no one is talking about Iraq and Syria. This is what we have so far
» Al-Sudani asks the American Baker Institute for assistance in preparing studies related to the oil m
» The Interior Ministry denies the occurrence of explosions inside Iraqi territory and diagnoses “the
» Tensions between Najaf and Baghdad over the airport... the rule of law over “military force” and the
» Al-Sudani from Washington: We agreed with Abu Dhabi on joint management of Al-Faw Port
» "Al-Party" talks about the region's elections and reveals the reason for refusing to pay salaries di
» Russia's oil is taking more of the Middle East's shares in the Indian market.. How much has Iraq los
» Early next month.. Traffic confirms that the electronic payment system is working only
» The Service Council accuses state departments of refraining from disbursing bonuses because of the m
» Electricity: The Baghdad street lighting campaign will be completed before the middle of this year
» Oil poses two conditions for moving the Doura refinery to an alternative location
» The Foreign Minister reveals the truth about his resignation and the reason for his departure to Erb
» Progress: Al-Halbousi’s acquittal has become conclusive, and his return to the presidency of Parliam
» Disagreements strike Al-Maliki's coalition over choosing the governor of Diyala
» The Union accuses Türkiye of exploiting the political situation for a ground incursion into Iraq
» The Democratic Party: Barzani is eagerly awaiting the results of Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington
» Frame: Al-Halbousi in the news and his return has become a pipe dream
» A parliamentary request to capitalize on Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad to end the water crisis
» Al-Sudani urges the US corporation Honeywell to help finish the Basra refinery
» Al-Sudani Meets with Representatives of Western Media Outlets in Washington
» Chairman of the Investment Authority signs the United Nations Convention on International Mediation
» PM: We will sign a contract to establish the Al-Faw refinery with a Chinese company
» PM arrives in Houston as part of his visit to USA
» Militia Man & Crew 4/18/24 Bush signed it and all presidents implemented it. Iraq’s funds have been
» Iraq is close to launching the electronic signature
» The Basra government discusses with an international oil company the implementation of social benefi
» The Prime Minister confirms to an American company: Gas projects in Iraq are a priority for the gove
» The Minister of Planning discusses with the World Bank mechanisms for scheduling external loans
» Oil sets the twenty-seventh of this month as the date for opening contracts for the fifth complement
» “Electronic begging”...professionalism and fabrication of stories” generates millions of dinars dail
» Al-Sudani calls on the American company Hanwell to contribute to the completion of the Basra refiner
» An American company expresses its willingness to establish LED lighting production lines in Iraq
» Including Iraq.. Iran announces the possibility of exporting 300 megawatts of “renewable electricity
» Political forces present two options to find an alternative to Al-Halbousi
» Parliament is awaiting the arrival of the budget schedules and the government is studying higher spe
» The International Monetary Fund adjusts its expectations for the development of the world’s economie
» A representative talks about the difficulty of finalizing the file of “electing the Speaker of Parli
» Work on preparing a law for diplomatic passports
» A female representative accuses the Ministry of Immigration of corruption
» Minister: Solving the Kurdistan salaries problem is the beginning of addressing other disputes betwe
» About 270 million dollars were sold by the Central Bank of Iraq in the currency auction
» The volume of trade exchange between Jordan and Iraq will exceed 800 million dinars in 2023
» Iraq signs memorandums of understanding with American companies in the fields of electricity, oil an
» The American company that manufactures the F16 expresses its readiness to implement the terms of con
» The volume of expected Qatari investments for the Iraq Fund for Development exceeds $3.5 billion
» Decrease in dollar prices in Baghdad and Erbil
» The President of the Region brings together the Kurdish parties to resolve the election file
» Al-Sudani receives in Washington the Chairman of JPMorgan
» Transport is starting to transform its ports into smart ones
» Sudanese reveals the volume of exchange with America
» "Al-Eqtisad News" publishes the memorandums of understanding signed between the Iraqi delegation and
» Al-Sudani urges an American company to contribute to establishing a chemical materials factory
» Iraq stresses the importance of Lockheed Martin's commitment to opening military aircraft maintenanc
» Iraq is on the verge of a “water disaster” by 2035
» Great satisfaction and optimism with the results of Sudanese’s visit to Washington
» Transport is beginning to adopt a plan to transform its ports into smart ones
» Completed 8,000 loan transactions at the Housing Bank
» Prime Minister: We plan to invest production capacities for export
» Transformation and partnership...a new horizon in Iraqi-American relations
» What is new in the economic dimension of the Washington visit?
» Two letters to the future
» National interests first
» Iraqi-American rapprochement...a national necessity
» Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington and the course of Iraqi-American relations
» Sudanese carries security, economic and development files to Washington