Moscow: Russia opened a criminal case against Facebook’s parent Meta on Friday. Moscow’s move to designate Meta as an “extremist organisation” came after the social network changed its hate speech rules to allow users to call for violence against Russians in the context of the war with Ukraine.Russia opened a criminal case against Facebook’s parent Meta on Friday. Moscow’s move to designate Meta as an “extremist organisation” came after the social network changed its hate speech rules to allow users to call for violence against Russians in the context of the war with Ukraine. “A criminal case has been initiated … in connection with illegal calls for murder and violence against citizens of the Russian Federation by employees of the American company Meta, which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram,” news agency Reuters reported quoting Russia’s Investigative Committee.
The committee, which probes major crimes, reports directly to President Vladimir Putin. It was not immediately clear what the consequences of the criminal case might be, the report said.
Meta spokesperson on Thursday said the company had “temporarily eased” its rules for political speech, allowing posts such as “death to the Russian invaders,” although it would not allow calls for violence against Russian civilians.
The company said the temporary change were aimed to allow for forms of political expression that would normally violate its rules. Its oversight board said on Friday that it was closely following the war in Ukraine, and how Meta is responding.
Moscow’s announcement comes after a little over two weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Russia has reportedly sought the ban of any criticism of its military campaign. “Meta’s aggressive and criminal policy leading to incitement of hatred and hostility towards Russians is outrageous,” the Russian embassy in Washington said in a statement on Friday.
