On March 11, the Russian Prosecutor’s Office asked to consider Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, as an “extremist” organization. A measure paving the way for the prohibition of all its activities in Russia.
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Social networks accused of “extremism”. The Russian security services (FSB) demanded the ban “immediate” American social networks Facebook and Instagram, Monday March 21, on the first day of a trial for “extremism” in a context of reinforced repression in Russia, since the invasion of Ukraine.
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“The activities of Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) are directed against Russia and its armed forces. We call for its prohibition and the obligation to apply this measure immediately.said during the hearing a spokesman for the FSB, Igor Kovalevski, quoted by the news agency Interfax.
A prosecutor also called for Meta to be banned, “due to clear signs of extremist activity”. However, he asked to exempt the messaging application WhatsApp, which is also owned by Meta, from this ban.
On March 11, the Russian Public Prosecutor’s Office had asked Meta to be classified as an “extremist” organization, a measure paving the way for the banning of all its activities in Russia. The request followed a decision by the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to relax its rules for violent posts against the Russian army and leaders. The Public Prosecutor’s Office considered that Meta thus justified “terrorist actions” and wanted to encourage “hatred and enmity” towards the Russians.
According to Russian news agency TASS, a Meta representative told the court on Monday that the company had since changed its rules to ban “Russophobia and calls for violence”.
Instagram and Facebook, like Twitter, have already been blocked in Russia, where they are virtually inaccessible unless you use a virtual private network (VPN). The sites of dozens of foreign and Russian media, including that of the BBC, have also been blocked since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.