#InterNIET: Ban the initiators of war on Ukraine and disinformation outlets from platforms

We acknowledge the steps many of you, internet platform owners and managers, have taken to limit the Russian state’s ability to wage a hybrid war by spreading disinformation. However, in the time of the violent attack on an independent nation causing thousands of casualties, targeting directly millions of civilians inside Ukrainian cities and villages, displacing hundreds of thousands of families, we call upon you to assume a united approach, taking into account the responsibility for the global information channels you are controlling.

We are calling the leading social media platforms to issue a unified response by introducing:

1. A world-wide ban of profiles of public institutions, its agendas or sanctioned individuals responsible for launching the invasion, including the Russian Ministry of Defence, and other profiles of Russian and Belarussian Military, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, the United Russia political party, etc.
   
   
2. A world-wide ban on media outlets sharing disinformation regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine , including but not limited to Russia Today, Sputnik, RTR Rossija, Rossija 24. The ban should take into account user profiles of these organisations and the ability to link to their websites in order to effectively stop spreading of propaganda.
   
   
3. Maintaining platform services for existing users and the ability to register new users in Russia to the maximum extent possible. Your platforms serve as one of the few means Russians are able to obtain and share independent, truthful information about the war, protests and, in many cases, their relatives.
   
   

We believe that in this turning point, through a swift action, internet social media platforms can live up to the vision of a technology connecting and having a positive influence on the global society. These measures must be taken here and now. We may differ in the vision of the role of Internet platforms as content moderators, the demands for transparency, combating disinformation and guaranteeing free speech. It will be important to return to this discussion as soon as possible, but here and now we ought to protect human lives of those in Ukraine and help stop the war. We call upon you to help limit the spread of disinformation and allow users to present an up-to-date picture of the devastating Russian invasion of the democratic Ukraine.

Signatories

Photo by Garry Knight, flickr.com, CC0 1.0