In Russia, Meta has been blacklisted as a ‘terrorist and extremist’ organization by the country’s financial watchdog, the ‘Federal Service for Financial Monitoring- Rosfinmonitoring’. Russia’s blacklist includes the Taliban, foreign terrorist organizations, right-wing nationalist groups and various groups opposed to Russia.
The mother company of social media Facebook was included in the list on Tuesday.
Facebook and Instagram were banned on Russian territory at the end of March this year, after an earlier crackdown in Ukraine. At the time, Russia’s main accusation against Meta was that the tech company had indulged in “Russophobia” during the Russia-Ukraine war. At that time Facebook and Instagram were banned for ‘extremist activities’.
At the time, Russia’s main accusation against Meta was that the tech company had indulged in “Russophobia” during the Russia-Ukraine war. At that time Facebook and Instagram were banned for ‘extremist activities’.
As a result, Russian users cannot access Facebook and Instagram directly. Many, however, are accessing these social media sites from Russia using VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). However, WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Meta, has not been brought under the ban.
Meanwhile, prior to the ban, Meta announced in March that posts calling for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s military would be approved. Even posts wishing death to Russian attackers in Ukraine will not be deleted. Usually such posts are against the mate policy.
Note that Instagram is particularly popular in Russia, and was used as a key platform for advertising and sales. The decision puts Meta on the same list as right-wing nationalist groups, foreign terrorist organizations including the Taliban, and groups opposed to Russia.