Access to the social networking site Instagram has been restricted throughout the country from the start of the day on March 14. According to the GlobalCheck project, Instagram is prohibited by all service providers, and the only way to access the social network is via the use of a VPN or other technologies that circumvent the filtering system.
On March 11, the Prosecutor General's Office ordered that Instagram be blocked, and the request was granted. It was said by Roskomnadzor that access was being blocked "due to the proliferation of appeals to conduct violent crimes against Russians, particularly military people," and that it was also being restricted in order to "protect the psychological health of residents."
Instagram has been added to the list of forbidden information maintained by Roskomnadzor. Instagram users were asked to sign up for the Russian social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, according to a public services webpage promoting the service.
Earlier, the Russian Federation's Prosecutor General's Office ordered that Meta, the parent corporation of the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as the WhatsApp messaging service, be designated as an extremist group. Facebook was stopped even earlier, and the Russian authorities have opted not to restrict WhatsApp for the time being, claiming that it is a communication tool rather than a social networking website.
Because of a modification in the content moderation policy, Ukrainian users were able to swear and advocate for violence against the Russian military, which resulted in a lawsuit against Meta and the shutdown of Instagram (impersonally, not against specific individuals).
Meanwhile, the company stressed that it would not tolerate Russophobia or any other form of discrimination against Russian citizens, and it also clarified that the new rules were only temporary, having been implemented in response to the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine and applying only to the territory of Ukraine. Nonetheless, a campaign against Meta started in pro-Kremlin media outlets in Russia, accusing him of being "Russophobic."
Instagram is a picture and video-sharing social network that was launched in 2010. It was used by tens of millions of individuals in Russia, including government officials, business owners, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). A large number of Russians conducted business with the assistance of social media.
Several independent media outlets, including Radio Liberty and its initiatives, were banned by the Russian government when the conflict in Ukraine erupted. Radio Liberty was among those targeted.