Moscow: Russia has announced plans to block access to Instagram and launched a criminal case against its owner, Meta Platforms Inc, after the company said it would allow posts that call for “death to the Russian invaders”.
Moscow’s internationally condemned invasion of its neighbour has provoked unprecedented sanctions from Western governments and businesses, but also a surge of online anger and debates over social media’s role in the war.
A day after Meta said it had temporarily eased its rules to allow calls to violence like “death to the Russian invaders,” Russia’s media regulator said it was restricting access to hugely popular Instagram because it contains “calls to commit violent acts”.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, also said it was launching an investigation of Meta, and prosecutors pushed for the Silicon Valley giant to be branded “extremist”.
