Russia decided to block the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) websites throughout the country. The Russian Federal Service for Telecommunications Supervision (Roskomnadzor) make the decision because the organization assured to the official agency TASS that these government services spread false information about Russia:
Roskomnadzor has restricted access to a number of resources belonging to state structures of hostile countries for disseminating material aimed at destabilizing the social and political situation in Russia,
The blockage of these websites is covered by a law on Information, Information Technology and Information Protection, according to EFE. Roskomnadzor said they discovered information "containing socially significant inaccurate information, as well as discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation."
Reuters reported that in Russia, this is classified as a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, while spreading "false information" about the military is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Russia blocks more US websites
These were not the only organizations banned in the Soviet country. Roskomnadzor also announced that they were blocking access to various US State Department websites, such as rewardsforjustice.net. The purpose of this is to fight against terrorism and for counter-intelligence missions.
The regulator has not yet provided details on the blockage, which, as recalled by Europa Press, comes a day after the U.S. said it would impose new sanctions against the Russian officials, as well as the Wagner Group less than a month shy of a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Neither Washington nor the U.S. embassy in Moscow have commented on this blockage.
