Russia opens criminal investigation of Meta over death calls

Russia opened a criminal case against Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms on Friday (March 11), and moved to designate the social media company as an “extremist organization”.

The move comes after Meta changed its hate speech rules to allow users to call for violence against Russians in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.

It was not immediately clear what the consequences of the criminal case might be.

No comment was immediately available from Meta in response to a Reuters request.

Two weeks into Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Meta spokesperson confirmed on Thursday (March 10) it had temporarily eased its rules for political speech on Facebook and Instagram, allowing posts such as “death to the Russian invaders.”

But said it would not allow calls for violence against Russian civilians.

Internal emails seen by Reuters showed the social media company had also temporarily allowed posts that call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

The company added that the temporary change aimed to allow for forms of political expression that would normally violate its rules on violent speech.

The United Nations human rights office said the potential change in Facebook policy was “concerning.”

Many major social media platforms have announced new content restrictions around the conflict, including blocking Russian state media RT and Sputnik in the European Union.

Twitter has removed tweets from the Russian Embassy in the UK about the bombing of a children’s hospital in Mariupol for breaking its rules against denying violent events, according to the company.

Citing the Reuters story, Russia’s embassy in the United States demanded that Washington stop the “extremist activities” of Meta Platforms.

Moscow has cracked down on tech platforms during the invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “special operation”.