Russia bans access to Instagram social network
Carrying out its threat, the Kremlin has ordered the closure of the third most used social network in Russia.
From Moscow they have fulfilled the threat and announced the decision to ban access to Instagram's digital platform, which it accuses of promoting violence against the government due to the war in Ukraine.
The Russian regulator, Roskomnadzor, confirmed that access to the social network will be restricted from Monday, March 14, after receiving a request from the Prosecutor General's office.
This decision comes a few hours after Meta, the main company that hosts Facebook and Instagram, announced that it would allow it to reduce its policies by allowing countries that are related to the conflict to make death threats against Russian forces.
Now from Instagram it is also possible to send threats directly to the presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Aleksander Lukashenko.
Once Meta's political changes were published, the Kremlin announced that it would take legal action against the company.
Russia's Investigative Committee said it has taken legal action over the so-called "illegal" killing of Russians by US collaborators.
On Friday, the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about Meta's permissiveness in sending hostile and hateful messages towards the Russian troops and government.
The blocking of Instagram in Russia comes after a week in which Roskomnadzor announced the restriction of access to Twitter and Facebook.
This action was justified by the measures taken by the platforms against the official profiles of the Kremlin media such as Sputnik and Russia Today.
Instagram is more popular among young people in Russia, and is a crucial sales tool for small and medium-sized Russian businesses, as well as artists and content creators.
Contrary to Facebook, which has little use in the country, Instagram is the third most used digital platform by Russians.
In Russia it is used by 59% of users, only VK (local social network) and YouTube register more users.