Russia, after Twitter slowdown, accuses U.S. of using IT to engage in unfair competition

FILE PHOTO: Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attends a weekly news briefing in Moscow, Russia February 11, 2021. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Saturday accused the United States of using IT opportunities to engage in unfair competition and of social media platforms arbitrarily and indiscriminately censoring content.

Russia this week said it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content. It threatened to block the U.S. platform outright, a move which escalating a row between Moscow and U.S. social media firms.