Amid sweeping media and social media bans and restrictions linked with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a Russian court banned Meta-controlled Facebook and Instagram in the country on March 21, calling its parent company “extremist.”

Earlier, Meta had said it would relax its policies on hate speech against Russian President Vladimir Putin and soldiers for those posting from inside Ukraine. Although the Russian court on March 21 banned the two social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, it did not prohibit WhatsApp messenger service, saying it was not a source of information but a means of communication.

Also read: Russia is on a censorship spree, checks on online platforms blocking free voices

This is not the first instance in which a social media company has been restricted as a fallout of the Russian attack on Ukraine. On February 24, the day Russia launched a military operation on Ukraine, Latvia banned three Russian channels -- Rossiya RTR, Rossiya 24 and TVCI. The following day, Russian channel RT was blocked in Finland, AFP tweeted through a graphic representation.

Invasion fallout: Russia media and social media.#AFPgraphics selected summary of media and social media boycotts, bans and restrictions linked with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as of March 21 pic.twitter.com/HulenUT0CI

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 22, 2022

On March 3, the European Union imposed restrictions on Russian state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik for spreading systematic disinformation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia fought back the information war by passing a law that would result in a 15-year jail term for those spreading “fake” news about Russian military. Following the censorship, Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper removed material on Russia's military actions in Ukraine from its website.

Also read: A look at brands, companies that exited Russia after its invasion of Ukraine

In the first week of March, global news outlets like Bloomberg, CNN, BBC and CBS suspended reporting from Russia. While BBC resumed reporting from Moscow later, Conde Nast and The New York Times suspended operations in the country on March 8.

Among entertainment networks, Netflix suspended its services in Russia from March 7 as a mark of protest against the invasion of Ukraine.

Also read: Russia accuses Twitter of breaking law by failing to delete content

Social media company TikTok also blocked Russian users on its platform from posting and viewing videos.

On March 19, Russian regulators accused US-based tech giant Google and its subsidiary YouTube of terrorist activities, a precursor to what could result in a possible ban.

Click here for updates on Russia-Ukraine war

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Mar 22, 2022 7:27 PM IST