Russia Now Includes Facebook And Instagram In The List Of Extremist Organizations

Facebook and Instagram are included as exremist organizations in Russia. (photo: Doc. Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Meta Platform Inc, which is now banned in Russia, has been included in the list of extremist organizations. This was revealed by the Russian Ministry of Justice on Friday, November 25.

Last month, the ministry updated a list of public associations and religious organizations, which would be suspended or banned by court decisions imposed under federal law. This was done by the Russian government to combat extremist activity.

"Meta Platforms Inc., an American transnational holding company that sells the following products: Facebook and Instagram social networks according to the Tverskoy district Moscow court ruling on March 21, 2022 and an appeal decision from the judicial room of the Moscow City Court for civil cases on June 20, 2022, is prohibited," said a source at Russian justices., as quoted by the TASS news agency.

In March, Moscow's Tverskoy district court supported the AGO's claim and acknowledged Meta Platforms' Instagram and Facebook activities as extremists and banned them in Russia.

The motion follows Meta's decision to temporarily lift the ban on posting calls for violence against Russian citizens by residents of several countries.

The Russian Investigative Committee also opened criminal cases on charges of calling for violence and killing of Russian citizens. However, it was finally decided by the Russian government not to ban WhatsApp messenger, which is also owned by Meta.