Russia warns Google, Twitter and Facebook for 'violating internet laws'

Russia's media watchdog has written to Google, Twitter and Facebook warning them against violating Russian internet laws and a spokesman said on Thursday they risk being blocked if they do not comply with the rules.

Roskomnadzor said it had sent letters this week to the three US-based internet firms asking them to comply with internet laws which critics of President Vladimir Putin have decried as censorship.

"In our letters we regularly remind [companies] of the consequences of violating the legislation," said Roskomnadzor spokesman Vadim Ampelonsky.

He added that, because of the encryption technology used by the three firms, Russia had no way of blocking specific websites and so could only bring down particular content it deemed in violation of law by blocking access to their whole services.

To comply with the law, the three firms must hand over data on Russian bloggers with more than 3,000 readers per day, and take down websites that Roskomnadzor sees as containing calls for "unsanctioned protests and unrest", Ampelonsky said.

Putin, a former KGB spy, once described the internet as a project of the CIA, highlighting deep distrust between Moscow and Washington, whose ties are now badly strained.