Russia slows down Twitter over failure to remove banned content

A mobile phone user turns on the Twitter application on his smartphone in Moscow, Russia (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Russian authorities said they are slowing down the speed of uploading photos and videos to Twitter over its failure to remove banned content — part of growing efforts to clamp down on social media platforms that have played a major role in amplifying dissent.

The state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said it began the slowdown after it said the platform failed to remove the content encouraging suicide among children and containing information about drugs and child pornography.