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Kaspersky Lab, a Russian network security company, has been banned from advertising on Twitter due to the alleged close and active relationship between the company and Russian intelligence agencies. This ban is the latest blow to Kaspersky, including two ongoing legal battles with the U.S. government.
Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky condemned the ban on Twitter on Friday.
My open letter to @jack Dorsey asking for more transparency to quash any doubts about potential political censorship on Twitter https://t.co/XKtIOpbmd3 pic.twitter.com/UhecZRY7ZB
— Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) April 20, 2018
A spokesperson for Twitter reiterated that “This decision is based on our determination that Kaspersky Lab operates using a business model that inherently conflicts with acceptable Twitter Ads business practices.”
The spokesperson pointed out to the media that the US Department of Homeland Security Act of September 2017 ordered federal agencies to remove Kaspersky products from their networks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s directive followed the 2018 Defense Authorization Act and incorporated the DHS directive into law.
Twitter specifically pointed out a paragraph in the Department of Homeland Security notice: “The Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks.”
Eugene Kaspersky expressed confusion and condemnation on Friday.
“In a short letter from an unnamed Twitter employee, we were told that our company ‘operates using a business model that inherently conflicts with acceptable Twitter Ads business practices,” he wrote in an open letter. “One thing I can say for sure is this: we haven’t violated any written – or unwritten – rules, and our business model is quite simply the same template business model that’s used throughout the whole cybersecurity industry: We provide users with products and services, and they pay us for them.”
A spokesperson for Kaspersky believes that “We haven’t violated any written – or unwritten – rules, and our business model is quite simply the same template business model that’s used throughout the whole cybersecurity industry: We provide users with products and services, and they pay us for them.”
According to the company, Kaspersky invested more than $93,000 in advertising on Twitter in 2017.
Source: TechCrunch, Reuters
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