Russia-Ukraine war: After Facebook and Twitter, Russia bans Instagram

After blocking major social media platforms Facebook and Twitter in Russia, the Vladimir Putin Government has also banned Instagram within its borders. 

According to BGR India, the news was announced by Russian communications agency, Roskomnadzor, which blamed Facebook’s parent company, Meta, for allowing its users to post violent messages against the country’s citizens.

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“As you know, on March 11, Meta Platforms Inc. made an unprecedented decision, allowing on its social networks Facebook and Instagram the posting of information containing calls for violence against Russian citizens,” Roskomnadzor was quoted as saying by BGR India.

“In the social network Instagram, messages are spreading that encourage and provoke the commission of violent acts against Russians, in connection with which the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia demanded that Roskomnadzor restrict access to this social network,” the report further added.

The photo and video platform stopped being accessible in Russia starting 12 am on March 14.  Responding to the development, Instagram boss Adam 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.”

Notably, this development comes shortly after Meta allowed some of its Facebook and Instagram users to call for violence against the ‘Russian invaders," the BGR India report said.

The company last week said that it was temporarily allowing its users in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine to share messages against the Russian soldiers.