As required by the federal statute “On Countering Extremist Activity,” the Prosecuting General Office of the Russian Federation submitted an application to the court to identify Meta Platforms Inc. as an extremist group and prohibit its operations in Russia.
Following reports that Instagram and other Meta platforms were being used to promote violence against Russian soldiers and citizens during the invasion, the country’s prosecutor has requested that the country’s media watchdog restrict users’ access to those platforms, according to state-sponsored media in Russia
RIA Novosti, a state-run news agency, reports:
After the firm Meta, which owns Instagram, enabled users to advocate for violence against the Russian military, the Prosecutor General’s Office made a request to Roskomnadzor to ban Instagram access.
TASS was the other outlet to cover the storey:
Meta, a US-based social media platform operator that runs Facebook and Instagram, has been warned by the Russian government that it would take stern actions if it does not stop encouraging violence against Russian citizens and military personnel.
Meta has reportedly made a temporary exception to its hate speech policy, allowing certain users to advocate for violence against Russians and Russian military on social media in specific regions. According to Reuters,
“Our regulations on political expression have been temporarily relaxed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, allowing for expressions like “death to the Russian invaders,” which would ordinarily be considered violent speech. No legitimate appeals for violence against Russian residents will be tolerated by us, no matter how much time passes “In a statement, a Meta representative stated.
According to reports, criminal investigations have been initiated in Russia as well. The invasion of Ukraine has already reached its third week, and a number of corporations, including Apple, have changed their activities in Russia as a result. Some state-sponsored content has been deleted from Apple’s App Store as a result of the company’s decision to cease selling its devices in the nation. The company’s greatest iPhone, the iPhone 13, is now 50% more costly in actual terms than it was only a few weeks ago because of economic sanctions and financial upheaval.