The US condemns Russia’s designation of Facebook and Instagram as “extremists”

This content was published on March 21, 2022 – 23:24

21 March 2022 – 23:24

Washington, March 21 (EFE) .- The United States condemned this Monday the decision of the Russian Justice to prohibit in the country the activities of the technological giant Meta, parent of Facebook and Instagram, considering it an extremist organization for allowing calls for violence against the Russians.

“We condemn the decision of a Moscow court to designate Meta, including Facebook and Instagram, as ‘extremists’. This attack on the right to information must stop,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter.

The decision of the Russian Justice satisfied the demand of the Prosecutor’s Office to ban the activities of Facebook and Instagram in the country for their “extremist activities” by allowing calls for violence against Russians.

The ruling does not apply to Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service because it does not contain functions for the public dissemination of information.

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Meta announced that it would allow its users in Ukraine, Russia, and Poland to bypass its usage rules and broadcast messages that would normally be prohibited such as “death to the Russian invader.”

Meta prohibits “credible” death threats against Russian civilians, but allows calls for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

Before this ruling, the Kremlin had already blocked Instagram and restricted Facebook on Russian territory. EFE

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