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This measure will only affect Instagram, not WhatsApp.
Russia responds to Meta again and its next operation is to suspend Instagramafter blocking Facebook services a few days ago.
Just a few hours ago, news broke that Facebook had allowed posts supporting violence against Russia to be published in some countries as part of a response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
It was even reported in some media that messages such as “death to Putin” were being posted on Facebook without any kind of retaliation. This was confirmed last night by a Facebook spokesperson:
“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily allowed forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules, such as violent speech such as ‘death.’ to the Russian invaders. We will not yet allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”
However, as expected, this did not please the Russian authorities, who have not wanted to remain silent.
Instagram pays the piper
In his response, it is Instagram that has paid the piper in this confrontation that, in fact, is not just now, but has been consolidating for some time.
The government led by Vladimir Putin filed a lawsuit against the social network and against Metaparent company, which has been considered as a “extremist organization”a label that organizations such as ETA, ISIS or Al-Qaeda have carried.
Through a statement issued by the Russian communications agency, Roskomnadzor, Meta’s actions were condemned and the decision that this would bring to the company in said Russia was announced:
“As you know, this March 11, Meta Platforms Inc. made an unprecedented decision, allowing the publication of information containing calls for violence against Russian citizens on its social networks Facebook and Instagram.
On the social network Instagram, messages circulate encouraging and provoking violent acts against Russians, in connection with which the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office demanded that Roskomnadzor restrict access to this social network.
Since it will take time for active users of Instagram to transfer their photo and video materials to other social networks and notify their contacts and subscribers, Roskomnadzor decided to complete the procedure for imposing restrictions on access to Instagram at 00:00 on March 14, providing users with an additional 48 hours of transition period.”
That is, Instagram will be unsubscribed from Russia in a period of 2 days, a clear response to the events that occurred no more than 24 hours ago.
It should be noted that this measure, according to the Roskomnadzor agency itself, will only affect Instagram, so WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, will continue to operate normally, as it is considered a means of communication and not content dissemination.
So far, there has been no response from Meta, but it is clear that the relationship between the social network has become even more acute.