Russian Court Bans 'Extremist' Facebook and Instagram
Eestlased Venemaal | 21 Mar 2022  | EWR
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Moscow's Tverskoi District Court found Meta guilty of "extremist activity", but said its decision would not affect the WhatsApp messenger service.

The Court upheld a lawsuit filed by Russian state prosecutors on banning the activities of Meta on Russian territory, the court's press service said in a statement.

TASS cited judge Olga Solopova as saying the decision would be enforced immediately.

The court said the activities of Facebook and Instagram in Russia were banned "on the grounds of realising extremist activity".

Russia banned Facebook for restricting access to Russian media while Instagram was blocked after Meta said it would allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages urging violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and troops Moscow sent into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Russia calls the conflict in Ukraine a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from "nazis".

Meta has since narrowed its guidance to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state and said its guidance should never be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general. But the perceived threat to Russian citizens angered Russian authorities and led to the launch of a criminal case against the company.

WhatsApp platform is not affected by the court's decision, although it was not clear how the messaging service would be able to continue operating, now that the court has put a stop to Meta's commercial activities.

Individual Facebook and Instagram users who use VPN to access these services in Russia should be safe. "Individuals will not be prosecuted simply for using Meta's services," TASS cited the prosecutor as saying in court.

But human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov warned that any public displays of Meta symbols - on websites, shop entrances, on business cards - could be grounds for administrative charges and up to 15 days in jail under Russian law. "Buying adverts on both social networks or trading Meta's shares may qualify as financing extremism activity - this is a criminal offence," he wrote on Telegram.

Access to Twitter has also been restricted and on Friday communications regulator Roskomnadzor demanded that Alphabet Inc's Google stop spreading what it called threats against Russian citizens on its YouTube video-sharing platform. read more

Anton Gorelkin, a member of Russia's State Duma committee on information and communications who has fiercely criticised foreign firms, while championing domestic alternatives, said the Russian market could be opened to Meta again, but only on Moscow's terms.

"These are an immediate end to blocking Russian media, a return to the policy of neutrality and strict moderation of fakes and anti-Russian comments," Gorelkin said on Telegram.

Another condition, Gorelkin said, was that Meta comply with a Russian law demanding that foreign companies with more than 500,000 daily users open representative offices in Russia.

Source: Reuters, TASS

 
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