Ukraine war: Social media companies ask to store evidence of war crimes | Science & Technology News
US politicians have written to the bosses of Meta, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube asking the companies to host content that includes potential evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The letters were sent by four senior Democrats who chair powerful committees in the House related to surveillance, foreign affairs and national security.
While the letters do not equate to binding legal orders, they are backed by considerable political power and come as platforms face a range of pressures regarding the issues. online safety.
One of the letters seen by NBC News, addressed to Mark Zuckerberg, read: “We’re writing to encourage Meta to take steps to preserve and host the content shared on its platform potentially. used as evidence.”
It added that this would support “the US government and international human rights and accountability watchdogs [who will] investigate Russian war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities in Ukraine. “
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Other major developments:
• Relatives and supporters of Ukrainian fighters hiding in the bombarded Azovstal steel plant south of Mariupol port in Kyiv, begging them to be rescued
• One of the closest allies of Russian President Putin said that increasing Western military support for Ukraine risks causing war between Russia and NATO
• German industrial giant Siemens AG says it is leaving Russia, where it has been operating for nearly 170 years
• Pressure on Europe to secure alternative gas supplies increased after Moscow imposed sanctions on state-owned Gazprom’s European subsidiaries and Ukraine stopped shipping routes gas, pushing prices higher
Over 10,000 potential war crimes are under investigation
A senior British diplomat recorded evidence of “credible allegations” of sexual violence against children of the Russian military, along with other UN Security Council violations of youth in wartime.
Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, said there was evidence “Russia is committing four of the six serious violations of the Security Council against children in times of war”.
London counter-terrorism police gather evidence of potential war crimes say they have attacked by “extremely indiscriminate” material and eyewitness accounts from the front lines.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said it was looking into more than 10,700 potential war crimes involving more than 600 suspects, including Russian soldiers and government officials.
The trial of a Russian soldier accused of killing a civilian is currently underway in Kyiv. Sergeant Said Shyshimarin, 21, is accused of shooting a 62-year-old man in the head in the village of Chupakhivka, in the northeastern part of the country.
This is the first time a member of the Russian military has been prosecuted for war crimes during the conflict.
