The sentence of the Moscow court has arrived in the past few hours, condemning Meta for extremist activity. The judge’s ruling thus consolidates the decision – already in place since the beginning of the month – to ban the use of Facebook and Instagram in the country.
However, the ban on using Meta’s products does not extend to its popular messaging app: Russian citizens will be able to continue communicating via WhatsApp. The judicial procedure against the giant led by Mark Zuckerberg started after the decision of Facebook managers to loosen the censorship, allowing the publication of posts against Putin and the Russian army.
WHATSAPP EXCLUDED FROM THE BAN
The decision to exclude WhatsApp from the prohibition of use in Russia is motivated by the Court by virtue of the lack of functionality for the public dissemination of information. WhatsApp is a messaging app and is not a social network with a very large audience of listeners (it is understood that information and disinformation also travel on WhatsApp).
WhatsApp is widespread in Russia – according to a Deloitte survey in 2021, 80% of those over 14 use it – although in recent weeks many users have moved to Telegram, due to the uncertainty surrounding the decisions of the Russian authorities on the possible ban of Meta apps, but also for the possibility of finding information that is not subject to censorship.
USING FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM IS NOT BEING EXTREMISTS
The court’s decision takes into consideration only the work of Meta, which will not even be able to open branches and carry out activities in Russia, but the Moscow authorities take note that, despite the ban on the use of Facebook and Instagram, there is no shortage of Russian citizens who they still choose to continue to access it via VPN.
This behavior is not considered participation in extremist activities, as specified by a spokesman for the prosecutor to the agency TASS:
The use of Meta products by natural and legal persons should not be considered as participation in extremist activities.
However, it must be said that even Russian users who decide to use Facebook and Instagram, despite the ban, must pay attention to what they declare in order not to violate the recent legislation on the dissemination of fake news relating to the conflict with Ukraine.