Russia sought to declare Facebook an extremist organization and YouTube blocked Russian state media channels worldwide on Friday, an escalation of the tit-for-tat between Silicon Valley companies and Russia as the Ukraine war enters its third week, NEws.az reports.

The moves by the Russian government, which include blocking popular Instagram, show how the Kremlin is increasingly willing to censor free expression and retaliate against tech companies. But the tech companies themselves, experts said, are increasingly rewriting their rules as they go in response to the fast-moving conflict, tweaking policies on the fly and struggling to maintain a consistent stance as events evolve.

YouTube on Friday stepped up its measures against Russian state-owned media channels, which are the main mechanism for the Russian government to spread propaganda around the world.