A Moscow court described the Meta company as an “extremist organization”, although it indicated that the WhatsApp messaging service will be able to continue operating on its territory. In this way, the Kremlin’s criticism seems to focus on Facebook and Instagram, platforms that were suspended in the Eurasian nation.
“The decision does not apply to the activities of the Meta messenger WhatsApp due to its lack of functionality for the public dissemination of information,” the Russian judicial body noted.
Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court said in a statement that it upheld a lawsuit filed by state prosecutors over the company’s ban on that territory.
For her part, Victoria Shagina, a lawyer from Meta, stated that the company did not carry out extremist activities and that it was against “Russophobia”. The ban decreed by Judge Olga Solopova takes effect immediately; For now, it is unknown if Meta plans to appeal this decision.
In addition, it is still not entirely clear what the designation “extremist organization” means, a term previously reserved by Russia for groups such as the Taliban and the Islamic State, but later extended to Jehovah’s Witnesses and an anti-corruption foundation. .
According to 2021 data, Facebook has 7.5 million users in Russia, while WhatsApp has 67 million and Instagram 80 million.
It should be remembered that this sanction imposed by Russia on Meta occurs in the context of the invasion of its troops into the neighboring territory of Ukraine.
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