TikTok temporarily bans new video creation in Russia

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

TikTok is suspending new video uploads and livestreams in Russia due to the country's new fake news law.

2/ In light of Russia's new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law. Our in-app messaging service will not be affected.

— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) March 6, 2022

In light of Russia's new fake news law, we have to suspend livestreaming and new content on our video service.

The fake news law was signed by Putin. People who spread false information about Russia's military or call for sanctions against Russia will be fined or imprisoned for up to 15 years. Russia has blocked Facebook, restricted access to Twitter, and barred access to the British Broadcasting Corporation's websites as it continues its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's communications agency called out TikTok for removing state-backed content from its platform. TikTok later announced plans to add labels to state-controlled media in order to make it harder for users to access Russian state media.

We will continue to evaluate the evolving circumstances in Russia to determine when we might fully resume our services with safety as our top priority.