A Russian court on Monday (21/3) officially banned the operation of Facebook and Instagram in its country. The two social media outlets were even labeled as "extremists" because they were seen as promoting a movement against the Russian government.
Since early March, Facebook and Twitter are no longer accessible in Russia. Meanwhile, Instagram has also been blocked in Russia since a week ago.
The Tverskoi district court, Moscow, approved a request from prosecutors to ban two social media platforms for carrying out extremist acts. Luckily, another Meta service, namely WhatsApp, will not be banned as it is not used to display public statements.
During Monday's trial, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) vehemently accused Meta of trying to go against the interests of the state and the army during the conflict with Ukraine.
"The activities of the Meta service are directed against Russia and its armed forces. We ask the court to prohibit Meta's activities and oblige them to implement this decision immediately," said FSB representative Igor Kovalevsky.
At the same time, Meta's representatives in court said that the company has now changed its policy after sparking a public debate. Meta also admits that Russophobia and calls for violence against Russian citizens are unacceptable.
Experts are currently unable to determine whether using the two social media in Russia is illegal.
Meanwhile, the Net Freedoms Project (NFP) said Russians could use social media Meta more carefully for now. According to the NFP, Russians cannot be prosecuted just for using social media.
Russia began monitoring activity on social media after the Russian Investigative Committee said it was launching an investigation into calls for the killing of Russian citizens by employees of the company Meta.
Facebook and Instagram are widely used in Russia. Instagram is even called the most popular social media platform among young Russians.
Instagram is also widely used by small Russian businesses to advertise, process sales and communicate with clients.
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