US social networks Facebook and Instagram have been banned in Russia for “extremist” activities, a Moscow court ruled on Monday.
“The court has satisfied a lawsuit filed by the First Deputy Prosecutor General against the holding company Meta Platforms Inc. relating to the prohibition of its activities on Russian territory,” the court said in a message on Telegram.
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Social networks run by Meta are “banned for extremist activity,” the court added.
+ WhatsApp not concerned +
Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, but also of the messaging application WhatsApp, which is not affected by this decision because the court ruled that it was not used as a means of “public dissemination of information”.
On March 11, the Russian Public Prosecutor’s Office had asked to classify Meta as an “extremist” organization, a measure paving the way for the prohibition of all its activities in Russia.
This request followed the decision of the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to relax its rules on violent messages against the army and the Russian leaders, in connection with the conflict between Moscow and kyiv.
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