Russia to restrict access to Instagram on March 14

New Delhi/Moscow: The Russian government announced that it would block Instagram after parent company Meta said it would allow calls for violence against Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukrainian invasion.

The Russian government's communication agency announced it would block Instagram in Russia beginning on March 14, in response to Facebook's decision to temporarily allow users in some countries to call for violence against President Vladimir Putin, reports Vox.com.

"On the basis of a demand by the general prosecutor's office, access to Instagramawill be limited on the territory of the Russian Federation," Russia's state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement.

Instagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, called it "wrong" to cut off 80 million users in the country.

"This decision will cut 80 million in Russia off from one another, and from the rest of the world as 80 per cent of people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country. This is wrong," Mosseri, said in a tweet.

Roskomnadzor recently blocked access to Facebook, citing 26 cases of "discrimination against Russian media and information resources by Facebook" since October 2020.

Earlier, the Russian legislature advanced a new law against spreading "fake news" about the country's armed forces, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Shortly after the bill was advanced, the BBC announced it would suspend journalistic operations within the country.

Facebook's decision follows similar moves from Google, Twitter, and Snapchat, which have all paused ads in Russia.