TikTok livestreaming in Russia suspended over ‘fake news' law

TikTok livestreaming in Russia has been suspended amid the country’s new “fake news” law that’s aimed at silencing dissent and limiting information about its invasion of Ukraine.

The decision by TikTok, comes after Russia’s parliament passed laws that would impose prison terms for people charged with spreading “fake news”. (AFP)

TikTok says it's suspending livestreaming in Russia amid the country's new “fake news” law that's aimed at silencing dissent and limiting information about its invasion of Ukraine. “We have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,” the company announced in a series of tweets. 

The decision by TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd., comes after Russia's parliament passed harsh laws that would impose prison terms for people charged with spreading “fake news” about the military or calling for sanctions against Russia. The short-video social-media platform popular among teens eclipsed a billion users last year. 

On Friday, the Russian government said it was blocking access to Meta Platform Inc.'s Facebook as part of the crackdown. Hours after the announcement, Meta said it would pause all advertising in the nation and would stop selling ads to Russian businesses. 

Russia has been slowing down social-media services, including Twitter and YouTube, to make them harder and more frustrating to use.