Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram for ‘extremist activities’
The Tver court of Moscow banned Facebook and Instagram on Monday, classifying the social networks as “extremist”, TASS reported.
The Kremlin had already blocked Facebook and Instagram following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, claiming that they allowed social media users to “urge violence against Russians”.
Judge Olga Solopova announced she had ruled, “to satisfy the claims of the Prosecutor General’s Office to ban the activities of Meta.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) had reportedly urged the court to reach such a ruling.
WhatsApp, which is also owned by Meta, will not be affected by the ban.
"The decision does not apply to the activities of Meta's messenger WhatsApp, due to its lack of functionality for the public dissemination of information," the court said.
The Kremlin has targeted social media and media opposition to its invasion of Ukraine. The vast majority of Russia’s independent news sources, most notably Dozhd and Ekho Moskvii, have been shut down. Twitter had also been blocked
Last week, Russia’s internet censor warned Alphabet Inc.’s Google to cease using YouTube to spread “threats against the country’s citizens”, leading many experts to conclude that YouTube will soon be blocked in the country.