A Moscow court on Monday banned Facebook and Instagram in Russia as extremist organizations, after the platforms, owned by US-tech giant Meta, allowed online hate speech against the country’s nationals. The judge had rejected a request by Meta’s lawyers to stop or delay the proceedings against the social media giant.
The case correspondence, which was read out in court, suggested that Instagram had ignored around 4,600 demands to remove false content about Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, and 1,800 demands to delete calls for illegal protest.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) has fully backed the ban on Meta, the agency’s representative saying in court that the tech giant’s actions “were aimed against Russia and its armed forces.” He called on the judge to outlaw the US company and to “immediately” implement the decision.