Reuters was first to report that Meta Platforms said it was temporarily changing its hate speech rules to allow some Facebook and Instagram users to call for violence against invading Russians in the context of the war in Ukraine and that it would allow calls for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, according to internal emails .
The Russian Embassy in the United States demanded that U.S. authorities stop what it described as “extremist activities” of Meta. The company said its policy change allowed ordinary Ukrainians to express their resistance at the invading military forces.
On Friday, Russia opened a criminal case against Meta, and prosecutors asked a court to designate the U.S. tech giant as an “extremist organization” as the country moved to shut down its services.