Russian Parliament Invites Facebook, Google to Set Up Contact Group - Lawmaker

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - Russian Federation Council's Commission for the Protection of State Sovereignty invited Facebook and Google to set up a joint contact group to avoid violations of Russian laws on these platforms, the commission's chairman Andrei Klimov said on Thursday.

"Facebook and Google did notice our legitimate reaction. Now, we are starting to receive signals that they want to form a sort of a contact group to avoid any further misunderstandings," the senator said. "At the session of the commission we decided to offer them this opportunity and, if they are ready, to form a contact group."

According to him, this group might include representatives of "relevant agencies."

On Monday, Russian communications watchdog said the companies had published political ads on the election day in Russia despite warnings.

Russia held regional elections on Sunday, including elections to the Moscow's city legislature. Some 57 nominees out of 233 were denied registration due to an insufficient number of valid signatures of eligible voters required for admittance to run in the race.

The opposition candidates described the denials as an alleged infringement on electoral rights, staging authorized and unauthorised protests in the Russian capital this summer.