Twitter has banned ads from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, possibly over US government concerns regarding its ties to the Russian government.
A Twitter spokesperson would say only that Kaspersky Lab "operates using a business model that inherently conflicts" with the Twitter platform's ad practices. It pointed to a US Department of Homeland Security notice from last September that effectively labeled Kaspersky Lab a national security threat and called on government offices to stop using its security software.
"The Department is concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence," the notice said. Under Russian law, the Kremlin can also compel Kaspersky Lab to help it spy on communications, the notice goes on to claim.
Twitter's decision isn't sitting well with Eugene Kaspersky, the CEO of the cybersecurity firm. On Friday, he complained in a tweet about the ad ban, and demanded that it explain.
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
"The majority of our promoted content on Twitter has been about cybersafety and research and reports about the information security industry," he wrote in a blog post.
The ad ban is the latest blow to Kaspersky Lab's business over its suspected ties with the Russian government. In September, Best Buy dropped the company's antivirus products from store shelves.
The security firm has rejected the spying accusations, but it did admit to accidentally downloading secret files from a US National Security Agency employee back in 2014. To clear the air, Kaspersky Lab has vowed to open its source code to independent review.
In his blog post, Kaspersky wrote that "other platforms could follow Twitter's example," but he vowed to fight any "unjustifiable acts akin to censorship," suggesting his company may take legal action against Twitter over the ban. In December, Kaspersky Lab sued the Department of Homeland Security over its ban.
No matter how this situation develops, we won't be doing any more advertising on Twitter this year.
The whole of the planned Twitter advertising budget for 2018 will instead be donated to the @EFF. They do a lot to fight censorship online. — Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) April 20, 2018
"If this is a mistake please openly admit this. This would quash any doubts about potential political censorship on Twitter," Eugene Kaspersky said.
Despite the ad ban, Twitter has said the Russian security firm can continue operating over the platform, but only as a user.