The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, confirmed that the social network would be blocked in Russia on Monday, March 14. He stated this on Friday, March 11, on his page in Twitter.
“On Monday, Instagram will be blocked in Russia,” Mosseri said, calling this decision a mistake.
He said blocking the social network “will deprive 80 million users in Russia of communication with each other and with the rest of the world.” According to him, about 80% of users in Russia are subscribed to foreign accounts.
Earlier in the day, Roskomnadzor announced that Instagram would be blocked at midnight on March 14 due to calls for violence against citizens of the Russian Federation and the Russian authorities. As noted in the department, until that time, users will be able to save their photos and videos so as not to lose access to them.
Earlier, Roskomnadzor stated that it would restrict access to the Instagram social network in Russia, due to the fact that the American company Meta, which owns the site, allowed posts on the platform to be published calling for violence against Russians and the Russian authorities.
Russian politicians and officials on the same day began to leave Instagram and Facebook. For example, Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov and Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin announced their departure from Instagram.
On March 10, Reuters, citing a statement from Meta, reported that the organization would temporarily allow its social networks Facebook and Instagram in some countries not to block user calls for violence against Russians. This decision was made against the backdrop of a special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass, which was announced on February 24 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, March 11, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for incitement to violence. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office on the same day demanded that the organization be recognized as extremist and restrict access to Instagram.
In mid-February, due to the aggravation of the situation in the Donbass as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics announced the evacuation of the civilian population to the Russian Federation and asked for recognition of independence.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding decree. On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. As the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov clarified, the special operation has two goals – the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. According to him, both of these aspects pose a threat to the Russian state and people.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.