From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 21, 2022
Russia’s FSB asks court to ban Meta, parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp
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MOSCOW — Russia’s FSB national security service asks a court to “immediately” ban US tech giant Meta, accusing it of working against Moscow’s interests during the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The court was considering a request by prosecutors to designate Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — an “extremist” organization and ban it.
The move is part of sweeping efforts by Moscow to put a tight lid on information available to Russians about the conflict in Ukraine.
“The activities of the Meta organization are directed against Russia and its armed forces,” FSB representative Igor Kovalevsky tells Moscow’s Tverskoi district court, Russian news agencies report.
“We ask [the court] to ban Meta’s activities and oblige it to implement this ruling immediately,” he says.
After President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, authorities blocked access in Russia to Facebook and Instagram, as well as to Twitter.
Meta had announced on March 10 that the platforms would allow statements like “death to Russian invaders” but not credible threats against civilians.
But in what appeared to be damage control, Meta’s global affairs president, Nick Clegg, later said the laxer rules would only apply to people posting from inside Ukraine.
The Times of Israel Community.