Putin says it is necessary to combat extremism in social media

It is necessary to combat extremism in social media but the relevant rules should not be applied to any post, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Presidential Human Rights Council, TASS reports.

When commenting on the complaints about social media users being prosecuted for reposting banned pictures and information on various campaigns, Putin said that "social media have been often used for extremist activities so the authorities become inclined to combat this."

"Daesh has been recruiting new fighters across Russia, people have been trying to leave for the Middle East to participate in the hostilities," Putin noted. "Moreover, some activists have been calling for people to take part in their illegal extremist activities and xenophobic acts and so on."

"However, we should act carefully not to apply strict rules to all the posts on social media," Putin concluded.