TikTok suspends livestreaming, new uploads in Russia

(Reuters) – TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app, said on Sunday it would suspend live-streaming and the uploading of videos to its platform in Russia as it reviews the implications of a new media law signed on Friday by President Vladimir Putin.

“We have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,” the social media company said in a series of Twitter posts It said in-app messaging would not be affected by the decision.

The U.S. government on Saturday condemned the new law, which threatens jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading what the Kremlin describes as “fake news”.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis)