Riga, March 21, LETA – MEDAZA. A Moscow court has recognized Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram’s parent company Meta as an extremist organization and banned all its social networks.
The court’s decision to ban Instagram and Facebook in Russia must be enforced immediately, the court said. It also states that the ban on Meta in Russia does not apply to WhatsApp.
The ban on “Meta” is another step in Moscow’s efforts to tighten control over the information available to Russian citizens about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russian authorities blocked access to Facebook and Instagram, as well as Twitter.
Meta said on March 10 that users of the social networks Facebook and Instagram in some countries would be allowed to call for violence against the Russian army, as well as to vote for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko,
But later, Nick Kleg, president of Meta’s global affairs, said the relief would only apply to people who post on social media from Ukraine.
A spokesman for Meta justified in court that the company had changed its policy following a public debate and said “Russophobia and incitement to violence against Russian citizens were unacceptable.”
Facebook and Instagram were widespread social networks in Russia, and the latter was especially popular among young people. Instagram has also been a key platform for advertising, sales and customer communication for many small businesses.
Twitter and Facebook have not been available in Russia since early March, but Instagram was blocked a week ago.
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