Instagram made a statement on Sunday warning Russian users that starting at midnight, they would be blocked from using the platform, after the company reviewed its hate-speech policy to exclusively allow Ukrainians to publish statements and messages of anger and violence towards Russia such as “Death to the Russian invaders.”
Users were instructed by Roskomnadzor, a Russian communications regulator, to save copies of their Instagram photos and videos before they would no longer be able to access them. They also advised users to switch over to alternative and local “competitive internet platforms”.
“We need to ensure the psychological health of citizens, especially children and adolescents, to protect them from harassment and insults online”.
The Instagram ban was put into place by the Putin government in response to the changes made by the US owned social media platform. Instagram’s owner, Meta, announced the new policy on Friday, which would allow Ukrainians to express “their resistance and fury at the invading military forces.”
President Zelensky posted on twitter in support of the change.
“War is not only a military opposition on [Ukraine] land. It is also a fierce battle in the informational space…I want to thank @Meta and other platforms that have an active position that help and stand side by side with the Ukrainians.”
War is not only a military opposition on UA land. It is also a fierce battle in the informational space. I want to thank @Meta and other platforms that have an active position that help and stand side by side with the Ukrainians.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 13, 2022
Russia has responded to the change by not only banning the platform, but by opening a criminal investigation into Instagram and Meta, asking the court to consider the company as an “extremist organization”, and stated that allowing hate speech of Russian forces is a breach of international law.
Russian users and influencers have cried out for their fans to support them during this difficult time for them, as the platform is largely where many of these individuals make a living. Russian reality TV star Olga Buzova, 36, has a following of 23.3 million fans.
“I am not afraid of admitting that I do not want to lose you,” she said in a 7-minute video. “I do not know what the future holds”.
“I don’t know. I just shared my life, my work, and my soul. I did not do this all as a job for me — this is a part of my soul. It feels like a big part of my heart and my life is being taken away from me.”
Credit: newsnpr.org
