The Russian prosecutors have asked a court to ban Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook and Instagram by “extremists,” Interfax reported, reporting the latest move in a growing crackdown on social media.
The authorities blocked access to facebook last week under a new media law, but the “extremist” designation, if approved by a court, would effectively criminalize all operations of
Goal in Russia.
The application of Instagram of the company would also be blocked. The move comes amid a growing tension between Moscow and American technology companies.
(You can read: The West seeks to exclude Russia from international trade).
Last Friday, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, called on prosecutors to investigate Meta after Reuters reported that the company had temporarily eased internal restrictions on calling for violence against Russian soldiers due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has already banned certain social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, while tech companies have demonetized Russian state-sponsored media and blocked it in Europe.
(Also read: Russia Hires ‘Syrian Assassins’ to ‘Destroy’ Ukraine: Zelenski).
“In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by the war, to express sentiments towards the invading armed forces as ‘death to the Russian invaders,'” confirmed a spokesman for Goal.
“These are temporary measures designed to preserve the voice and expression of people facing invasion. As always, we are prohibiting calls for violence against Russians outside the narrow context of the current invasion.”
(You may be interested: UN has information that Russia uses prohibited weapons in Ukraine).
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