Meta added to list of terrorist and extremist organisations

Due to “Russophobia”, Facebook and Instagram were banned in Russia in March. The ban followed Meta’s announcement it would permit posts such as “death to Russian invaders” but not credible threats against civilians.

The ban was maintained by a Moscow court in June despite Meta’s appeal. Whatsapp, also part of Meta, was exempt from the decision.

As to why Meta made the decision to allow the posts in March, it was stated they were making a temporary exception to its normal policies, “in light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine”, to allow those affected to “express violent sentiments towards invading armed forces”.

In addition to worsening the overall tensions between the West and Russia, there are more practical reasons why this move is significant. Instagram is a widely used platform in Russia and VPNs were heavily used by the population to access it previously.

The new terrorist designation now places an increased risk on the user themselves, as it may now potentially be a criminal offence for individuals in Russia to use Instagram, including via VPN.

Strategically, the move falls in line with Russia’s broader aims of hindering free reporting of the conflict within its borders and it is likely we will observe a continuation of similar policies.