Instagram added to register of prohibited websites in Russia

MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has formally added Meta's Instagram social network to the register of prohibited websites.

According to the Roskomnadzor universal service for checking websites and webpages blocked in Russia, access to the Instagram.com website has been restricted on the orders from the Prosecutor General's Office of March 11.

The service blocking in Russia began in the Far East on Sunday and ended early on Monday morning Moscow time.

As Facebook and Instagram decided to temporarily lift the ban on calls for violence against Russian soldiers in certain countries, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office filed a motion with a court on March 11 for branding Meta as an extremist organization and banning its operation in Russia.

"Such actions on the part of the company's management does not just create an impression of the admissibility of terrorist activities, but also aim at inciting hate and enmity for Russian citizens," the Prosecutor General's Office said.

Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office demanded that Roskomnadzor fully block access to Instagram in Russia. Roskomnadzor said it would do so at 12 a.m. on March 14 to allow active users to move their content and warn subscribers.