Russian authorities have blocked “Vot Tak” — Belsat’s service edited in Russian and aimed at the audience living in the post-Soviet space. It was done at the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation.
Officials of Roskomnadzor (Federal Service for supervision in communications, information technology, and media) decided to block the site on February 24, but it was not implemented until yesterday. According to information from RosKomSvoboda, a social organization dealing with freedom of speech in electronic media, the Prosecutor General’s request, in this case, concerned a live broadcast that the portal conducted on the first day of Russian aggression.
The second request to block ‘Vot Tak’ followed a story about Russian POWs. It was published on March 1. In this case, the prosecutor’s office of the Eastern Military District filed a lawsuit with the Central District Court in Khabarovsk against the portal, requesting that access to the article be blocked. The claim details are unknown; the process is to start at the end of the month.
“Vot Tak” continues to work. The editorial office urges Russian readers to use the portal via virtual private networks (VPN). All published information is available at “Vot Tak” feeds and messengers: Facebook, VKontakte, Twitter, and Telegram.
