About 80 million people in Russia are set to lose interaction with Instagram users outside their country as Russia is set to ban the app. The decision has disheartened Instagram head Adam Mosseri as many people in Russia are active users of the application.
The decision to ban Instagram in Russia comes after Facebook allowed posts calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin in several countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Poland.
Mosseri announced the news about Instagram ban in Russia through his Twitter account. He wrote, “On Monday, Instagram will be blocked in Russia. This decision will cut 80 million in Russia off from one another, and from the rest of the world, as 80% of people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country. This is wrong.”
Earlier, a Meta spokesperson highlighted that the firm has temporarily allowed users to indulge in varying forms of political expression that would otherwise violate Facebook’s hate speech guidelines like 'death to the Russian invaders.
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Nevertheless, he said that violence against Russian civilians won’t be allowed by Facebook.
According to Russia’s media regulator, Instagram access is being restricted from Monday because it includes "calls to commit violent acts”.
Notably, Moscow has also taken steps to block access to Twitter as well as various other social media platforms, including Facebook.
As mentioned by the Russian communication agency, “messages are circulating on the Instagram social network 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”.
While Instagram and Facebook will remain banned in the country from March 14, citizens will be able to access WhatsApp as there is no ban on the messaging application as yet.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, which it claimed was a response to calls from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk for protection against attacks by Ukrainian troops.
