MOSCOW, March 21 — A Moscow court today rejected an attempt by Facebook owner Meta Platforms FB.O to have extremism charges against it dismissed, Russian news agencies reported, in a case that could force the US tech giant out of the Russian market.
Russia has already banned Facebook for restricting access to Russian media while Instagram was blocked after Meta said it would allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages urging violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and troops Moscow sent into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Read full story
Meta has since narrowed its guidance to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state and said its guidance should never be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general. Read full storyRussian prosecutors want to label Meta an “extremist organisation”, a designation once reserved for groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State but later given to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.