Russia, Turkey Ban Discord over Illegal Activities
October 2024 marks the date when Russia and Turkey announced a Discord ban, stating the platform’s non-compliance with content regulations and concerns over cyberbullying and illegal activities.
Russia’s telecom regulator, Roskomnadzor, enforced the ban on Discord, accusing the gaming communication platform of violating national laws, as Moscow intensifies its crackdown on foreign tech platforms.
To those of your asking, “Did Russia ban discord?” Yes, with immediate effect.
In parallel, Discord has yet to issue a response to the ban.
For years, Russia has pressured foreign tech companies to remove illegal content, frequently, and scrutinizingly imposing fines for non-compliance. While it is true that some of these fines are relatively not as drastic as the fine imposed by the US on Chinese and Russian technology, they are, however, regularly issued to platforms like Discord.
Last week, Roskomnadzor ordered a Discord ban after the platform failed to remove nearly 1,000 pieces of objectionable material as part of a broader crackdown that started after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, where the world witnessed the infamous block of X (FKA Twitter), alongside Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.
Is discord banned in Russia and Turkey
Discord banned in Russia was shortly followed by Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) also blocked access to the platform, due to growing concerns over its use in facilitating illegal activities.
The block initially came to light on October 8 from a post by a user on Reddit and was further confirmed by NetBlocks, an internet governance watchdog organization. Turkish authorities have claimed that blackmail, doxing, cyberbullying, and other such reasons-even against children-are the basis for this ban.
Recently, Turkey has intensified its scrutiny on such platforms, known to facilitate online abuses. In August, it blocked access to Roblox over concerns about child grooming and cyberbullying. Discord ban command just became the latest casualty, targeting a platform popular amongst young audiences and crypto communities.
Communication Channels Affected
The Discord Russia ban, and Turkey ban carry serious implications for the tech industry, especially crypto projects whose communities usually engage and collaborate via Discord.
The Discord ban cuts a vital communication channel between the projects and might adversely affect their operations in the Russian and Turkish markets.
The discord ban wave goes to underline the seriousness taken by both countries over questions of the impact that these digital platforms will have on social and political dynamics, making for an increasingly complicated global tech landscape.
More recently, the system has been used for battlefield communication by both Russian and Ukrainian troops to coordinate drone attacks. Russian regulators justified the ban, pointing out the system might be used for criminal activities such as terrorism and selling drugs.
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