This is an alarming new censorship effort by Russia, which claims to have blocked Facebook

According to Russian authorities, Facebook will be completely banned from operating within their borders after a week of implementing partial restrictions.

“26 incidents of discrimination against Russian media and information resources” were listed by Russia’s internet regulatory agency Roskomnadzor as a reason for cutting off access to the world’s largest social platform.

It has been reported that Facebook has banned access to several news organizations’ accounts recently, including those of Zvezda TV and RIA Novosti as well as Sputnik and Russia Today, according to the Russian news agency.

Federal Law No. 272-FZ ‘On measures to influence persons involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens,’ adopted among other things, to prevent violations of the key principles of the free flow of information and unhindered access Russian users to Russian media on foreign Internet platforms,’ prohibits the above restrictions.

Meta The head of the global affairs department Tweeted by former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, the Russian revelation was a topic of conversation on Friday.

According to Meta, Russian state-linked media on Facebook and Instagram will no longer be able to distribute statements influenced by the Russian government, as the company said earlier this week.

Rumored internal unrest over the violent invasion of neighboring Ukraine coincides with the government’s crackdown on Facebook. Russia’s parliament on Friday enacted new legislation that imposes severe penalties for anyone found to have willfully distributed “false” information about the country’s activities in Ukraine, including heavy prison sentences of up to 15 years, in response to the growing dissent.

The impact of Russia’s recent moves against Facebook on other Meta-owned apps like WhatsApp and Instagram isn’t yet evident, but given that those services may be used to coordinate protests and distribute information from non-Russian news sources, this consequence appears probable.

Elon Musk’s attorney accuses SEC of leaking information of probe

 An counsel for Elon Musk accused the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a letter to a judge of leaking facts of its probe, the latest in an ongoing struggle between the regulatory body and the world’s richest person.

The SEC achieved settlements with Tesla and its chief executive officer in September 2018 after suing Musk over his controversial “funding secured” tweets in which he claimed to have investor backing for taking Tesla private for US$420 a share.

Earlier this month, Tesla stated in a regulatory filing that the agency asked information regarding the company’s governance practices and compliance with the agreements on Nov 16.

Alex Spiro, Musk’s outside counsel, alleged in a letter last week that the SEC was pursuing Musk with “unrelenting investigation” because the CEO is “an outspoken critic of the government”.

“After I submitted the Feb 17, 2022 letter to this court about the commission’s conduct, at least one member of the SEC staff responded by leaking specific material regarding its inquiry,” Spiro stated in a fresh letter Monday (Feb 21). (Feb 21). “This leak is symptomatic of the vindictive, unlawful conduct that provoked my letter: the SEC is retaliating against Mr Musk and Tesla, without responding to the restraints of principle or law in so doing.”

Spiro said that in a separate letter, he has requested particular SEC staff to “preserve their records and equipment” and has referred the situation to the SEC Office of Inspector General. Press officers for the SEC didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the submission, which came on a federal holiday. Tesla closed Friday at US$856.98 in New York trade.

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Bitcoin trade in China Huobi intends to return to the US market, but this time with an emphasis on asset management.

Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is preparing to re-enter the U.S. market more than two years after it suspended operations to comply with laws, one of the company’s co-founders told CNBC.

But the corporation might not build an exchange and instead instead focus on other sectors like as asset management, after failures last time around, according to Du Jun.

“In 2018, we tried to join the U.S. market but we immediately withdrew ourselves because we didn’t have a strong commitment to the business at the time and we didn’t have a solid management team in the U.S.,” Du stated according to a CNBC translation of his comments in Mandarin.

“I expect asset management to be a bigger industry than exchange, which reflects the conventional finance sector as well,” he told CNBC, adding, “I don’t think exchange is a crucial aspect for entering the U.S.”

Du could not clarify which company Huobi will launch first in its re-entry to the U.S. A step back into the U.S. market might place Huobi in competition with companies like Coinbase. Huobi is one of the top 10 biggest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume globally, according to CoinGecko.

Huobi first launched a bitcoin exchange business in the U.S. in 2018. The following year, the firm claimed it would freeze U.S. user accounts and added that it will return to the market in a “more integrated and impactful fashion.”

Huobi Group owns an exchange company and an asset management business called Huobi Tech, which is listed in Hong Kong.

The U.S. campaign is part of a wider worldwide development plan following several years of tightening crypto regulation in China, the country where Huobi was created. Last year, Beijing looked to fully wipe out cryptocurrency mining in China and tighten down on loopholes that allowed Chinese citizens to trade.

By the end of 2021, Huobi retired existing mainland Chinese users’ accounts and picked Singapore for its Asia headquarters.

Du added that Huobi has lost roughly 30 percent of its revenue from shutting down customers in China. But that has given the corporation a further drive for international expansion. It is contemplating putting up a headquarters in Europe, in addition to its U.S. effort.

“As for how much resources or people we would deploy for the international market, we have no other alternative but to use our full strength to continue forward in our worldwide strategy,” Du added. “In the past, we would explore a new market and we can easily withdraw ourselves if it doesn’t work out. Now, Huobi has no other alternative than to go global.”

Chinese regulation

Du applauded China’s stringent regulation on cryptocurrency since it targeted incidents of gaming and money laundering. The Huobi co-founder argued that the rule protects smaller investors. He said, however, other countries should not replicate China’s strategy because investors might be more mature in other markets.

“In China, when people lose in their investment, occasionally extreme people would go leap from the regulator’s building and investors are less mature. The government used a similar approach with Covid restriction. It has sensed a danger and has taken precautions to protect the safety of the people,” Du added.