Facebook accused of yielding to Moscow pressure for blocking page

Moscow

FACEBOOK'S blocking of a page used to rally opponents of President Vladimir Putin has engulfed the world's largest social networking site in political controversy and raised accusations that it censors content on behalf of the Russian authorities.

Facebook over the weekend removed an event page promoting a Jan 15 demonstration near the walls of the Kremlin in support of Alexei Navalny, a leading opposition figure. The page had gathered more than 12,000 prospective attendees before it was blocked at the request of the Russian government's Internet monitor, Roskomnadzor.