A Russian court has ruled that Meta is involved in “extremist activities”, a ruling that applies to the company’s already banned Facebook and Instagram services, Russian news service Novaya Gazeta reported. Meta’s WhatsApp was excluded from the sentence.
The ruling confirms a lawsuit filed by Russian prosecutors banning Meta’s business within the country, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the judicial press service. The decision comes after the Kremlin earlier this month blocked Facebook and Twitter in response to the platform’s alleged “discrimination” against Russian media as well as a change that allows people affected by the Ukrainian war to publish publications calling for violence against “Russian invaders.”
Meta did not immediately return a request for comment on the sentence.
Facebook earlier this month said it would temporarily allow posts in Ukraine calling for violence against the invasion of the Russian armed forces. This change is an update to the company’s hate speech policy, which prohibits users from posting violent posts.
In the court case, the Russian prosecutor argued that extremist materials are available on Facebook and Instagram, pointing to photos of Adolf Hitler posted on Instagram in 2016, Novaya Gazeta reported. The prosecutor also claimed that Facebook users had called for violence against Russian citizens and Russian military personnel in Ukraine.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, issued a statement on Twitter on March 11 in response to reports that Russia was considering labeling the company an extremist organization.
“I want to be very clear: our policies focus on protecting people’s speech rights as an expression of self-defense in response to a military invasion of their country,” Clegg wrote. “We have no fight with the Russian people.”
In response to reports that the Russian government is considering designating Meta as an extremist organization for its speech support policies: pic.twitter.com/Y8sUbZDSML
– Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) March 11, 2022
The Facebook policy update allows for violent posts that refer to the Ukrainian war and are aimed at the Russian government and military. It is designed to give Ukrainians a chance to defend their country on social media, according to the company.
—With a report by Musadiq Bidar.
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