Russia on 13 March announced that it has decided to ban Instagram, blocking access for 80 million users in the country, after blocking access to Facebook and Twitter starting 4 March. 

The decision came after Instagram’s parent company Meta announced its policy shift, under which the tech company allows posts containing calls for violence to Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Russian military. 

“In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by the war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces,” said a Meta spokesperson. 

To add, the company said it would be wrong to prevent Ukrainians from "expressing their resistance and fury at the invading military forces".

Russia called on the US to stop the social media giant's extremist activities. Its authorities also opened a criminal investigation against Meta and prosecutors asked a court to designate the US tech giant as an “extremist organisation”

In response to the ban, Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg has clarified the new content moderation policy, stating that it “is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general”. 

Clegg also stated: “We also do not permit calls to assassinate a head of state.” Meta added that the policy change only applies in Ukraine.  

According to the BBC, access to Facebook and Instagram is restricted in Russia “over what Moscow sees as ‘fake news’ about its invasion of Ukraine.”

This ban poses a major challenge for Russian influencers who rely mainly on their social media accounts. Citing the New York Post, popular public figures wept at the news in their final video posts, with one saying it felt like her life “was being taken away” from them.