The Russian government announced that it has taken steps to “partially restrict access” to Facebook in the country, asserting that the social network censored official news outlets amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Facebook was “involved in the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens,” by restricting Kremlin-backed news sources, according to an announcement released Friday (Feb. 25) by Roskomnadzor, the Russian governmental agency responsible for monitoring and censoring Russian media. It isn’t immediately clear what Russia’s move to “partially” block access to Facebook’s service means.

The agency, under the heading of “Measures taken to protect Russian media,” said it was taking the action after Facebook on Feb. 24 restricted the official accounts of four Russian media outlets on its platform: the Zvezda TV channel, RIA Novosti news agency, Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru. According to Roskomnadzor, Facebook tagged the Russian media as “unreliable” and “imposed technical restrictions on the search results of publications” to reduce their audience reach.

Representatives for Facebook and Meta, Facebook’s parent company, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Roskomnadzor said it sent requests to Meta Platforms to lift the restrictions Facebook had placed on the Russian media outlets “and explain the reason for their introduction.” According to the agency, “The owners of the social network ignored the requirements of Roskomnadzor.”

The regulatory agency said Facebook’s actions violate a Russian federal law. Since October 2020, Roskomnadzor claimed, it has recorded 23 such cases of “censorship: of Russian media and internet resources by Facebook.

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