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Meta Added to Russian Register of Extremist Organizations

The move comes after access to Facebook and Instagram were restricted in Russia earlier this year.

The Russian justice ministry added Meta Platforms to its register of extremist organizations on Friday, according to state media. The blacklisting comes after a Russian court in March used extremism laws to ban access to the Meta-owned platforms Facebook and Instagram. Whatsapp, which is also owned by Meta, was unaffected by the prohibition because the Moscow court ruled it “was means of communication, not a source of information.” The court action in spring was launched in response to Meta relaxing its rules on hate speech for users in Ukraine discussing Russian soldiers. Russian prosecutors argued that the social media sites were being used to host plans for violence targeting Russian citizens.