Russia is risking the creation of a “splinternet”—and it could be irreversible
Russia’s disconnection from the online services of the West has been as abrupt and complete as its disconnection from real-world global trade routes.
Facebook has been blocked entirely by Russian authorities, while Twitter is almost completely cut off. Many more companies have voluntarily withdrawn from the Russian market—including Apple, Microsoft, TikTok, Netflix, and others. Russia is rapidly joining the likes of Iran as a digital pariah state.
The European Union, in turn, is seeking to all but wipe certain Russian outlets from the internet—with guidance on new bans of state-owned RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik suggesting that not only should the sites be blocked, but that search engines and social networks should hide delete any post repeating content from said sites.
