A Russian court on Monday labeled Meta, the newly formed parent company of Facebook, as an “extremist organization.”
The designation means that Facebook and Instagram will continue to be blocked in the country. It may also mean that all commercial activity and display of symbols associated with the brand could be outlawed, The Hill reports.
As previously reported by Human Events News, earlier this month, Russia blocked access to Facebook due to the platform’s “discrimination against Russian news media.”
Facebook immediately blasted the decision.
“Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out,” Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg wrote in a statement on Twitter. “We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they can remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action.”
The move came after the platform announced it would block Russian outlets from earning ad revenue, restrict Russian state-media and demote Russian-backed outlets so they’d be harder to find.
