WASHINGTON: Russia has moved to block Instagram access and launched a criminal case against its owner Meta, as Moscow fired back at the tech giant for allowing posts calling for violence against Russian forces.
This new escalation follows Russia’s blocking of Facebook and limiting of Twitter in a confrontation with US social media platforms that has mushroomed since its invasion of Ukraine.
A day after Meta confirmed a temporary easing of its rules to allow calls to violence like “death to the Russian invaders,” Russia’s media regulator said it would restrict access by Monday to hugely popular Instagram because it contains “calls to commit violent acts”.
In what appeared to be damage control, Meta’s global affairs president Nick Clegg responded by saying the loosened rules would only apply to people posting from inside Ukraine.
“We will not tolerate Russophobia or any kind of discrimination, harassment or violence towards Russians on our platform,” he added, echoing the firm’s previous statement excluding civilians.
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But Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, had already said it was launching an investigation of Meta, and prosecutors pushed for the Silicon Valley giant to be branded “extremist”.
Only 7.5 million Russians used Facebook in 2021, or about seven percent of the country’s internet users, compared to 51 million for Instagram, according to eMarketer data, with use especially high among young people and smaller businesses.
Meta’s relaxing of its rules had met with controversy almost immediately and the UN voiced alarm, warning it could spark “hate speech” against Russians.
UN rights office spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell said that the policy lacked clarity, which “could certainly contribute to hate speech directed at Russians in general”.
Meta, which boasts billions of users globally across its apps, has previously struggled with what it would allow people to post in moments of upheaval.
