Will Reporters Be Banned From the Sochi Olympics for Using Vine and Instagram?

Journalists covering this winter's Sochi Olympics could be banned from the Games for using social media such as Instagram and Vine to share videos from the competition. Or, at least, comments from a Russian sports official have journalists concerned about this possibility.

Vasily Konov is head of Russia's state-run R-Sport news agency. According to Russian news reports, he said at a Friday seminar for journalists covering the Olympics that reporters who use their smartphones to document action will be considered in ' serious violation' and have their credentials revoked. Only reporters using official equipment - tripods, DSLRs and the like - will be allowed to capture competition.

Konov's reported tough talk set off a predictable outcry from those looking ahead to the Games with a particular eye on the intersection of media and politics. But a closer look suggests their worrying may be a bit premature. Konov denied reports of his comments and offered his own Instagram feed from last summer's London Games in tweets to a Russia-based correspondent. But there's also some recent historical precedent for those who might believe his comments are overblown.

Before the 2012 Olympics in London, much was made of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) restrictions on social media use by athletes, fans and media. While some athletes chafed publicly beforehand, in practice there were no major issues with social content from the Games being monitored or policed in Big Brother-like fashion.

An IOC spokesman told that social media photos are encouraged from Sochi, but that video content is restricted because of the sale of the Olympics' broadcast rights. We've also contacted the IOC about Konov's recent comments and have yet to hear back.

Although restrictions were in place for the most recent Olympics, plenty of news was still made on social media from London - perhaps most notably when a Greek triple jumper was kicked off her country's team for posting a racist joke to Twitter, and when British diver Tom Daley publicly outed a Twitter troll.

The Sochi Olympics begin Feb. 7.

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