{"id":45692,"date":"2022-03-14T05:59:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T05:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/russia-labels-meta-an-extremist-organization-bans-instagram\/"},"modified":"2022-03-14T05:59:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T05:59:11","slug":"russia-labels-meta-an-extremist-organization-bans-instagram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/russia-labels-meta-an-extremist-organization-bans-instagram\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia labels Meta an ‘extremist’ organization, bans Instagram"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia’s Investigative Committee, the nation’s peak criminal and anti-corruption investigation body, has opened a probe into whether Meta is an extremist organization.<\/p>\n

The move follows Meta’s decision last week to relax rules about exhortations to commit violence posted to its Facebook and Instagram properties \u2013 but only within Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Facebook’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, justified the stance in the tweet below.<\/p>\n

\n

Responding to reports that the Russian government is considering designating Meta as an extremist organization for its policies in support of speech: pic.twitter.com\/Y8sUbZDSML<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) March 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A visit to the Investigative Committee’s website is a trip into Vladimir Putin’s alternative reality. It describes Ukraine as the nation bombing hospitals. But the notice of the investigation into Meta appears to be entirely serious. The Committee is claiming extra-territorial jurisdiction over the activities of Meta’s staff \u2013 a usually futile course of action.<\/p>\n

While that probe continues, Russia’s tech regulator Roskomnadzor has ordered<\/a> that Instagram be blocked from Russia, again citing Meta’s policy on posts promoting violence.<\/p>\n