Russia to Ban Instagram From March 14th Over Shocking Posting Rule

• Russia’s communications agency, Roskomnadzor has announced that it is set to ban Instagram

• The ban on the social media platform comes after Facebook was banned in the country for “discrimination against Russian media”

• Russia’s decision to ban Instagram is due to parent company Meta directing moderators to allow posts calling for the death of its soldiers

Just a few weeks after Facebook was blocked in Russia, the country has disclosed that it is set to ban Instagram and launch a criminal case against its owner. This comes after the social media platform’s parent company, Meta announced that it will allow posts that call for the death of Russian invaders.

The restriction of the photo-sharing app was announced by the country’s communications and media regulator, Roskomnador on Friday. The ban will take effect from Monday, March 14, allowing Russian users to transfer their photos and videos.

In a response to Russia’s decision, Meta’s Global Affairs President, Nick Clegg claimed that the decision from the company was a temporary one “taken in extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances.”

He added that the company could not apply its standard content policies without adjustments because it would be removing posts from Ukrainians who are expressing their anger at the invading military.

Read also: Amazon Blocks Russian Shipment and Access to Prime Video as War Continues

Clegg noted that the policy only applies to people in Ukraine and the company will not change its policies on hate speech targeting Russians from people in other countries.

Meta’s Instagram is one of Russia’s most used social media platforms with over 67 million users last year, according to research by Insider Intelligence.

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