AFP news agency reported earlier today that Instagram is no longer available in Russia. The development was inevitable as users of the platform in the country were informed about the upcoming situation. Instagram had said that its services in Russia would be suspended after midnight amid the war with Ukraine. The platform’s head, Adam Mosseri, had said the decision would cut 80 million users in Vladimir Putin-ruled Russia, where platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and TikTok are also highly popular.
Read also: Exclusive: Facebook and Instagram will temporarily allow calls for violence against Russians
This development comes days after Reuters claimed meta “Facebook and Instagram in some countries are changing their security practices to allow users to invoke violence against Russian and Russian troops in the context of the invasion of Ukraine.” The report states that meta-owned platforms like Instagram will allow certain posts to be called out. For the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin. As expected, the Russian administration did not welcome the changes and even decided to treat META as an “extremist organization”.
META’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, later clarified that the company’s policies are focused on “protecting people’s right to speech” and that it will not tolerate “Russophobia”. However, the new policy applies only to Ukraine, leading to a rift between Russia and Meta. Russia later decided to block Instagram, saying its national internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, would “restrict access” to Instagram. “The Instagram social network distributes informational material containing calls to commit violent acts against citizens of the Russian Federation, including military personnel,” the statement read.
Sony WF-C500 review: Mid-budget TWS earbuds that won’t disappoint
A separate report from Reuters claimed that Russian state regulators began warning users to move photos and videos from Instagram ahead of the shutdown. Users were advised to switch to Russia’s own “competitive Internet platform”. Meanwhile, Facebook and Twitter were facing sanctions inside Russia; However, a ban could open doors for new developments. A report suggests that Instagram is still accessible via VPN, though more clarity is awaited.
Read minute-by-minute news updates for Uttar Pradesh Election Result 2022, Punjab Election Result 2022, Uttarakhand Election Result 2022, Manipur Election Result 2022And Goa election result 2022,