RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT ADDS META TO ITS LIST OF ‘TERRORIST AND EXTREMIST’ GROUPS

Tue 11 October 2022:

Russia’s financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring, has added US tech giant Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, to its list of “terrorists and extremists.”

After authorities accused Meta of tolerating “Russophobia” during Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, Russia banned Facebook and Instagram in late March for “carrying out extremist activities.”

On March 10, Meta announced that the platforms would allow statements such as “death to Russian invaders,” but not credible threats against civilians. It later stated that the change only applied to users posting from within Ukraine.

Facebook and Instagram have been inaccessible in Russia since March, but many Russians resorted to using VPNs to keep using the social media networks.

Instagram is particularly popular in Russia and is an important platform for advertisement and sales.

The decision on Tuesday puts Meta on the same list as right-wing nationalist groups; foreign “terrorist organisations”, including the Taliban; and Russian opposition groups.

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