Meta Platforms Inc. Block Russian Government Media Content On Facebook And Instagram Globally

Facebook and Instagram no longer load content from Russian state media. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms Inc. has taken down globally the content from the Facebook pages and Instagram accounts of media outlets controlled by the Russian government. In addition, there are also posts containing links to these outlets on Facebook.

Nick Clegg, Head of Global Affairs for Meta Platform Inc., on Tuesday, March 1, stated that technology and social media companies have been facing pressure to respond to Russia's invasion since last Thursday 24 February into Ukraine. The invasion has led to economic sanctions against Moscow by governments around the world.

Meta's Nick Clegg told reporters during a press conference that the company had seen a "clearly visible" degradation of its services in Russia since the authorities there announced they would be restricting the Meta platform. "Videos and other multimedia content are severely affected," Clegg said.

According to Clegg, Meta has had "protracted discussions" with Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor. The discussion was mainly about his new law requiring some foreign internet companies to open offices in Russia. He called some provisions under the new law "disproportionate."

Meta, along with Twitter and Alphabet's Google, face possible punitive action in Russia because they had not complied with it until this March.

On Monday, February 28, Meta said it would restrict access to Russian state media outlets, RT and Sputnik, on its platforms across the European Union.

Clegg said the company had also received requests from governments outside the European Union to block Russian state media. He said he was not aware of such a request from the United States government.