The company that owns Facebook and Instagram has announced that it has changed its rules on combating calls for violence, in a number of countries, due to the invasion of Ukraine, to allow them against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers.
Meta said it had “temporarily” allowed violent statements – such as “Death to Russian invaders” – that normally break its rules, but stressed that calls for violence against Russian civilians would not be allowed.
In response, Russia asked the United States to stop the “extremist activities” of the social networking giant.
Moscow also announced on Friday that it would legally pursue a “meta” company for “calls to kill” Russian citizens.
The Russian Investigative Committee, which investigates major crimes, said it would launch an investigation “due to illegal calls for the murder of Russian citizens by employees of the US company Meta”. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office also requested that the internet giant be labeled an “extremist” and called for Instagram to be banned in the country.
A company spokesman told the BBC: “In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we have made a temporary exemption for war-affected people to express their violent feelings toward the invading armed forces.”
According to these amendments, it will be allowed to publish posts on Facebook and Instagram, in a number of countries, calling for the death of Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The messages indicated, according to what was reported, that these invitations will be allowed unless they include other goals, locations or methods. It will also allow calls for violence in publications that directly address the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Embassy in the United States tweeted: “We ask the American authorities to stop the extremist activities of Meta, and to take measures to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“Facebook and Instagram users did not give the owners of these platforms the right to define standards of truth and to incite people against each other,” she added.
On Friday, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about Meta’s announcement, introducing exceptions to its rules.
“It is very clear that this is a very complex subject, but it raises concerns about human rights and international humanitarian law,” OHCHR spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told a press conference in Geneva.
Thrussell said the ambiguity surrounding the ad “certainly contributes to hate speech directed against Russians in general.”
“We will encourage her (Meta) to reconsider the harm that may accompany this policy change,” she said, noting that the issue requires a deeper review due to the complexities of the surrounding legal concepts, especially freedom of expression and the context of a conflict.
Last week, Russia announced the ban on the Facebook app in response to what it said were restrictions on access to Russian media on the platform.
Moscow has also cracked down on other companies, including Twitter, enacted a law imposing harsh penalties on those who “spread false information about the military,” and blocked several international news platforms and independent Russian platforms.
Major social media platforms announced new restrictions on content dealing with the conflict in Ukraine, including the blocking of Russia Today and Sputnik in Europe.