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Russia awaits Meta’s official response concerning new rules, diplomat says

Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, has confirmed that it will temporarily allow calls for violence against the Russian military on these social networks

MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. The Russian government is waiting for Meta’s official response to reports that it has allowed Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to incite violence against Russian nationals, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

"We are waiting for the corporation’s official response. And another question, if there are such ‘instructions’: who initiated and endorsed such a document within the corporation?" she wrote on her Telegram channel.

Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, has confirmed that it will temporarily allow calls for violence against the Russian military on these social networks in light of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, but the ban on calls for violence against Russian civilians will stay in place. The corporation, however, hasn’t explained its moderation procedures.

The new Facebook and Instagram content moderation rules being applied in some countries were revealed by Reuters, which cited the company’s in-house emails. It said that according to Meta emails, calls for violence against Russians will be allowed when a post openly refers to the military operation in Ukraine. The changes in company policy are being put in place in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Estonia.

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Maria Zakharova

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