Val
Forum Legend
That's true: e.g. here, the major part of surveillance is being done through the social media platform "VKontakte" ("In touch"). Saying a wrong word in VK can be very dangerous. Everyone remembers a significant case, where a girl posted a joke related to sacred procession during a religious holiday, and then she was arrested and accused in the "insult of worshipers' feelings". That's exactly how it sounds, and it's a very serious accusation that can lead to jail. It took a very long time and a lot of lawyers' efforts to justify that girl. That was an act of intimidation and scaremongering, and it worked to some extent. I prefer not to post anything controversial on VK at all. Moreover, i find it a very dull and sad place,- a perfect reflection of bad sides of the modern society.It's probably also to avoid any legal issues. They don't want any part in: documenting things that could later lead to people being prosecuted (or just losing their jobs or housing), spreading the word about what's going on (ie supporting the more violent/controversial side of it), authorities finding out about what's going on and intervening. It's kind of a combo of keeping themselves out of trouble, staying out of the violent stuff, and protecting people who might not want to be filmed and have that posted online.
People don't realize that social media is a big source of info for the media and law enforcement. And that the content is collected and archived by third party companies. You could lose your job or face criminal charges years after something questionable was posted online somewhere. I think they're kind of supporting people's right to protest.
That is if it's also blocked in the US. It could be country-specific.