Following the Russian communications agency Roskomnadzor announcement, Instagram became inaccessible in Russia from today after Moscow accused its parent company Meta of allowing calls for violence against Russians, including the military, on its platforms, according to Agence France-Press report.
The move comes after Facebook and Twitter were blocked in early March as part of sweeping efforts by Moscow to control information available to Russians about its military operation in Ukraine, Agence France-Press noted.
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram tweeted last week, saying “on Monday, Instagram will be blocked in Russia. This decision will cut 80 million in Russia off from one another, and from the rest of the world as ~80% of people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country. This is wrong.”
Instagram appeared Monday on a list of “restricted” online resources on a list published by Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor. Instagram’s app was not refreshing without a VPN, AFP journalists said.
For many small Russian businesses, Instagram was a key platform for advertising, processing sales and communicating with clients. Facebook and Instagram are widely used in Russia, the latter being the most popular social media platform among young Russians.
Meanwhile, Facebook owner Meta Platforms said on Sunday that it is further narrowing its content moderation policy for Ukraine to restrict calls for the death of a head of state, according to an internal company post seen by Reuters.
The move came after Reuters reported last week that Meta was temporarily allowing some posts on Facebook and Instagram calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
After the Reuters report, Meta said on Friday that a temporary change in its content policy, only applicable for Ukraine, was needed to let users voice opposition to Russia’s attack. On the same day, Russia opened a criminal case against the social media firm.
(With inputs from agencies)
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