Moscow court receives claim to recognize Meta as extremist
Russia is taking to trial a request to ban Meta after the tech giant allowed the incitement of violence against Russians on its platforms.
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Meta logo displayed on a phone screen and Russian flag displayed on a screen in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 1, 2022
A Moscow district court told Sputnik Wednesday it had received a statement from the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia calling for recognizing Meta as an extremist organization.
A court representative said a civil case on banning the tech giant was scheduled for trial in the coming days.
"A civil case on the statement of claim of the First Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia in the interests of an indefinite circle of persons against transnational holding company Meta Platforms Inc. on the ban on the activities of the organization on the grounds of carrying out extremist activities is scheduled for trial in a court session on March 21, 2022, at 11:00 [Moscow time]," the representative said.
Meta had last week permitted its users to incite violence against the Russian armed forces on its social media platforms in light of Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.
Following Meta's move, Russia blocked Instagram starting Monday.
This was not Meta's first app to be prohibited in the federation, as Facebook was blocked in Russia after several instances of its discrimination against Russian state media.
A statement released by the State Duma's lower house said that the publishing of fake news stories may lead to "serious consequences" with jail time "of up to 15 years." People calling for sanctions against Russia may also be fined or jailed.
Commenting on Meta's decision to allow content in a number of countries and not just Ukraine, inciting violence against Russians, Russian soldiers and calls for death against Russia's President, Peskov said Moscow would investigate if Facebook and Instagram allowed publications of calls for violence against Russians, adding that it will be necessary to ban these applications if they indeed allowed hate speech.
Just today, following the official decision of the Russian state, Instagram users started following a hashtag calling for the boycott of parent company Meta due to its decision to allow such content.
Many people even highlighted the discrepancies between Meta's treatment of the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian cause, stressing how the tech giant was being too lenient when it came to Kiev as opposed to its strictness when it came to Palestine.
