Russia Threatens Instagram Ban After Facebook Blocked

Russia may be set to ban Instagram after it called for parent company Meta to be designated an “extremist organization,” according to Russian news agency Interfax and state-owned news agency TASS. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office says it has filed a petition “to recognize Meta Platforms Inc. as an extremist organization and ban its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation.” The head of the Duma’s Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein, called on Instagram to be banned if reports are accurate that Meta changed its policies so users can call for violence against Russian soldiers. State communications agency Roskomnadzor also issued a statement asking Meta “as soon as possible to confirm or refute” the reports. “If Meta confirms this fact or declines to comment, that will be a reason for Roscomnadzor [sic] and other colleagues to take the toughest measures,” Khinshtein told TASS. “My opinion is that the work of Instagram in Russia in this case should be blocked, like what’s happened to Facebook.”