RAPSI - Jan 22 - Russia's communications agency Roskomnadzor has sent a request to the management of VKontakte social network demanding to immediately suppress involvement of minors into unauthorized rallies. Based on the demand of the Prosecutor General's Office, Roskomnadzor asked the social network to prevent distribution of information involving children into illegal actions dangerous for their lives.
30 posts categorized "VKontakte"
VKontakte Urged to Suppress Involvement of Minors Into Wrongdoing
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VKontakte Reports 50% Increase in Posts This Year
TELECOMPAPER - Dec 29 - Russian social network VKontakte said that the number of messages sent on the network jumped by 50% YOY in 2020. ~15B messages are sent daily by the users. The user base of the social network's call service soared by 22%. The user base of the VK Pay payment service lifted by 50% to 16M.
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Youla and vKontakte Launched A Classified in The Social Network
AIM GROUP - Dec 14 - Youla, the No. 2 general marketplace in Russia, has teamed up with vKontakte to offer a marketplace feature on the social network. The feature is similar to Facebook's Marketplace offering. From now, listings published on Youla or in the Listings section on vKontakte will be available on both platforms. Sellers will be able to add listings to relevant groups on vKontakte. ~4k groups have already opted into the feature. The classifieds listings are currently available on the VK mobile app. The company plans to add it to the desktop version soon.
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Vkontakte Gave Statistics on Hate Speech Blocking
PLEDGE TIMES - Aug 31 - The social network Vkontakte has published statistics on blocking hate speach according to the new norms of the platform. Over the past week, 142 communities have been blocked under the new rules. Vkontakte blocks those who systematically post offensive content or incitement to violence.
by Bhavi Mandalia
See full article at Pledge Times
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Russian Social Network, VKontakte, To Enter China
ASIA ONE - Nov 19 - VKontakte is entering China by opening a marketing branch in Beijing. VK, based in St Petersburg, has ~250M accounts and 4B daily page views. ~70% of the users are in Russia. The daily net profit of the company is $1.8M. VK may launch a cross-border online shopping service in coming years, helping Chinese retailers to explore the Russian market.
by Gao Yuan
See full article at Asia One
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Mail.ru Now Controls Most Of The Russian Social Networking Market
GIGAOM - Sep 16 - Mail.ru has bought out VKontakte, the largest regional social network. The buyout became complete on Tuesday, when Mail.ru bought the remaining 48% that it did not own for $1.47B. The stake in question belonged to United Capital partners (UCP), run by Kremlin ally Ilya Sherbovich, which bought it off some of the VK co-founders (not including Durov) in April 2013.
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VKontake: Social Media, Censorship And A CEO On The Run
THE GLOBE AND MAIL - July 12 - Pavel Durov, of Russia's popular social media network, VKontakte, stands up to Federal Security Service, or FSB, requests to shut down the page of political activist Alexei Navalny and turn over personal data on Ukrainian users. Rather than take part in what he calls “political censorship,” the 29-year-old Durov posted the FBS letters to his VK page, stepped down as CEO, and fled the country.
Mr. Durov and VK have been in the center of Russia's struggle between social media's freedom of expression and the corporations and government trying to control it, since late 2011 when VK pages gave young Russians a place to vent their political frustrations following Putin's return to power. At that time, Durov refused to block the profiles of protest groups prompting Russia to pass Internet laws that would make it harder for him to say no in the future.
Growing weary of all the political and corporate pressure on the company due to Russia's growing battle over the future of Ukraine, and an ongoing struggle over ownership of VK, Durov chose to take on the role of a political fugitive forced to leave Russia. In the wake of his departure, Russian lawmakers continue to pass laws that place restrictions on the Internet.
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Durov Is Out For Good From VK.com
TECH CRUNCH - Apr 21 - Pavel Durov, the founder of VKontakte.com, Russia’s top social network with ~100M users, is now out for good from the company, and is likely to start building a mobile social network this year. “I’m afraid there is no going back,” he said of VK.com, “not after I publicly refused to cooperate with the authorities. They can’t stand me.” For now, it looks like VK.com’s deputy chief executive Boris Dobrodeyev and executive director Dmitry Sergeyev are running the network on an interim basis.
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VKontakte Accepts Founder's Resignation
AFP - Apr 22 - VKontakte had accepted the resignation of its founder, Pavel Durov, after he announced earlier this month he was leaving and then apparently changed his mind.
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VKontakte Owner Sued By Shareholders Over Telegram
BLOOMBERG - Apr 7 - United Capital Partners, which owns 48% of VKontakte's holding company VK.com, sued Pavel Durov, the founder of the Russian social network, over control of a separate mobile-messaging service he developed. The fund claimed that VK.com is the proper owner of the messaging service, called Telegram. Durov says he used his own money and assets to develop Telegram, which is run by a nonprofit entity he helped set up in Berlin.
by Ilya Khrennikov
See full article at Bloomberg
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Music Copyright Holders Sue VKontakte For Piracy
TWEAKTOWN - Apr 6 - VKontakte, the top social network in Russia, is now being sued by Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music, with VKontakte accused of "deliberately facilitating piracy on a large scale." In 2012, VKontakte made $172M in advertising revenue, but didn't pay the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) for copyrighted music shared through the site.
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VK.com Founder Durov Back As CEO
TECH CRUNCH - Apr 3 - On April 1, Pavel Durov stepped down from his role as CEO of VKontakte. But today Durov has rescinded his resignation. The fight goes on and he will not voluntarily give up. The ownership of VKontakte is currently held by two companies, the VC United Capital Partners and Mail.ru. There have been a lot of tensions between Durov and the shareholders, partly over freedom of speech issues and partly over the fact that Durov struck out on his own to create a secure messaging app, Telegram.
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Pavel Durov Resigns As Head Of VK.com
TECH CRUNCH - Apr 2 - Pavel Durov, the founder of VKontakte.com, has stepped down as the head of the social network. He said that it became “increasingly difficult” to run the social network after ownership changes put pressure on the company preserving its freedom of speech ethic. Durov came under pressure to shut down VK.com pages related to Alexei Navalny and his supporters and give out private data for Ukraine’s opposition leaders. It’s not clear who would be replacing Durov.
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Mail.Ru Gets Controlling Stake In VKontakte
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VKontakte Founder Sells Stake To Megafon CEO
TECH CRUNCH - Jan 24 - VKontakte founder, Pavel Durov, has sold his 12% stake in Russia's largest social network to Megafon CEO, Ivan Tavrin. Megafon's second-largest sharesholder, Alisher Usmanov and his allies now own 52% of VKontakte, with another shareholder group controlling the remaining 48%. The deal was based on a $3-$4 billion valuation. Durov has stated that he will continue to monitor the quality of VKontakte.
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