A Russian court has on Monday, March 21, 2022, banned Facebook and Instagram, for making its work in Russia illegal tagging them as “extremist”.
Well, we all know Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp as apps from the same parent company, Meta, but from the court hearing on Monday, the court has however excluded Whatsapp and rather took actions on Facebook and Instagram.
According to a Judge at the Tverskoy Court of Moscow, WhatsApp messenger service would not be prohibited because it “was means of communication, not a source of information” while Facebook and Instagram on the other hand are widely used among Russians and were “carrying out extremist activities”.
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Facebook and Instagram access in Russia had already been restricted stating early this month on March, and it was after Meta announced that it was reviewing its policies on hate speech towards Russian soldiers and president, Vladimir Putin in relation to the country’s war in Ukraine.
Russia Bans Facebook and Instagram: According to The Russian News Agency abbreviated as TASS, Meta’s lawyer (attorney), Victoria Shagina had said in court that the corporation opposed any type of Russophobia and was not carrying out extremist activities.
Russian prosecutors said in court they would not seek to charge Russian citizens and organisations that access the two banned platforms, as hundreds of thousands of Russians have sought to circumvent the social media ban using a VPN.
“The use of Meta’s products by individuals and legal entities should not be considered as participation in extremist activities,” Kovalevsky told the court on Monday. “Individuals will not be held liable for using Meta’s services,” he added.
Earlier this year, Russian parliament earlier this month passed a law imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” news about the military.
“Since the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the authorities have sought to fully control the information sphere in the country. We should be prepared for more censorship,” said Alexander Isavnin, a Russian internet privacy advocate and member of the Pirate Party of Russia.
“The move to ban Meta is also a final warning sign to YouTube, the last major remaining western platform in the country,” Isavnin added, pointing to the recent criticism YouTube received from Russia’s communications regulator and politicians.
Russia’s communication watchdog last Friday slammed YouTube for engaging in acts “of a terrorist nature” by allowing ads on the video-sharing platform to be used that could “harm Russian citizens”.
“The actions of the YouTube administration are of a terrorist nature and threaten the life and health of Russian citizens,” the regulator said in a statement.
Also Read: Video Showing Russian Citizens protesting against the attack on Ukraine
