Russia adds Meta to list of 'terrorist and extremist' organisations

Moscow, Oct 11: Russia has added Facebook owner Meta to its list of extremist and terrorist organizations. means that all services provided by Meta, including WhatsApp and Instagram, are set to be cut off in the country and Russians would lose access to these platforms.

In March, Russia had banned Facebook and Instagram for "carrying out extremist activities" after authorities accused Meta of tolerating "Russophobia" during Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

"Meta had announced on March 10 that the platforms would allow statements like "death to Russian invaders" but not credible threats against civilians, before saying the change only applied to users posting from inside Ukraine," according to a report by AFP.

Facebook and Instagram have been inaccessible in Russia since March, but many Russians resorted to VPN to keep using the social media network.

Prominent human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov said the latest move "in itself, did not really change anything" but was a reminder of the risks associated with using Meta apps "considering prosecutors are being proactive".

On Telegram, the lawyer said users could be prosecuted for mentioning Meta without disclaiming the ban on its activities, or for showing the logo of any Meta organisations.

Russian companies that advertise on Meta can also be accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organisation, according to Chikov.

The ban does not apply to popular messenger app Whatsapp. Instagram is particularly popular in Russia and used to be a key platform for advertisement and sales.

Billions of people use Meta's app around the world.

This decision puts Meta on the same list as right-wing nationalist groups, foreign terrorist organisations including the Taliban and Russian opposition groups.

with PTI inputs