Facebook blocks RT after allegations of copyright breach
UPDATE: Jan. 19, 2017, 11:49 EST
RT has announced with a GIF from BBC's TV show Sherlock that it is back on Facebook:
A Facebook spokesperson told Mashable: “All the features for this page owner have now been restored. We are looking into the reasons behind the temporary block.”
Facebook has blocked the Kremlin-run RT media outlet from posting links and videos to the social network, according to posts on the company's Facebook page.
The ban, which allegedly came from Facebook after the Russian media company livestreamed Obama's last press conference at the White House, will last until Saturday 2.55pm EST, after the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, RT stated in a Facebook post.
The organisation can now only post text on Facebook but not other content such as live video streams, pre-made videos, articles or GIFs
"We were blocked while livestreaming Obama’s final press-conference. Such things happen because (for ex.) some other news media livestreams carry the same shots and feed, and Facebook considers this a copyright violation," it said in a post.
It's a standard practice for Facebook to block content for a certain amount of time in case of allegations of copyright violations.
The move comes at a sensitive time, just a day before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has been accused of having ties to Russia.
RT is in talks with Facebook to see if anything can be done about that.
However, the Kremlin-run organisation attacked the blockade claiming the State Department had something to do with it.
“I’m not surprised. If the Department of State could block oxygen to us, they would do it," RT’s Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan told RIA Novosti.
During Obama's press conference, RT's live-stream was allegedly interrupted by a Facebook bot notification that rights for the feed had been claimed by a local Russian channel, Current Time TV.
Russia's communications authority, Roskomnadzor, threatened reprisals about the ban, according to RIA Novosti.
Topics Facebook Donald Trump
