Soon after placing a ban on Facebook, Russia has also announced a ban on Instagram as well. The Russian communication agency Roskomnadzor said that the ban is because Meta‘s decision directing moderators to allow posts calling for violence against Russians, if they originate from certain countries, including Ukraine. “This is wrong," Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a tweet. Russia had banned Facebook citing “discrimination against Russian media."
Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that the country’s ban on Instagram will cut 80 million Russians from one and another, and from the rest of the world. In his tweet, Mosseri said that 80 percent of the people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country. “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," Mosseri said.
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.— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) March 11, 2022
In a translation of Roskomnadzor’s statement, the agency said, “on March 11, Meta Platforms Inc. made an unprecedented decision by allowing the posting of information containing calls for violence against Russian citizens on its social networks Facebook and Instagram." The communication agency said that “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 restric access to this social network."
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Russia, in its statement, has not said that people in Russia have also used Instagram to speak out against the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Children of oligarchs, who have a large following on Instagram, have also come out to speak against the Russian invasion. Football Club Chelsea FC’s owner Roman Abramovich’s daughter, Sofia Abramovich reportedly shared a message saying, “the biggest and most successful lie of Kremlin’s propaganda is that most Russians stand with Putin." A banker named Oleg Tinkov, who was the 15th-wealthiest man in Russia also posted on Instagram saying “We are against this war."
The ban comes a few days after Meta announced that Instagram will label state media outlets and that in Russia and Ukraine, it is hiding information about people’s followers, who they are following, and people who are following each other for private accounts based in these two countries.
The ban will take effect on Monday, March 14 and a Russian news agency has said that the ban does not apply to WhatsApp. “As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone had said earlier.
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