Facebook owner Meta Platforms said it is tightening its content moderation policy for Ukraine to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state, according to Reuters. Following previous reports that Meta was temporarily allowing posts on Facebook and Instagram calling for the death of the Russian or Belarusian president, President of Meta Global Affairs Nick Clegg explained that the company will ‘make it explicitly clear in the guidance that it is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general’.
Ukraine conflict
Russians’ demand for VPNs skyrockets after Meta block
The demand for tools to bypass Russia’s restriction of Meta Platforms’ social media platforms Facebook and Instagram has skyrocketed, a monitoring firm Top10VPN reported. According to their data, On the eve of the Instagram ban, demand for Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that encrypt data and hide the user’s location spiked 2,088% higher than the average daily demand in mid-February.
Ukraine president calls on software giants to stop supporting their products in Russia
The Ukrainian President called on US software firms Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp, as well as German business software group SAP to stop providing services for their products in Russia. ‘Stop supporting your products in Russia, stop the war!’ Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter.
Anonymous collective attacked the German subsidiary of Rosneft
The Anonymous collective has reportedly attacked the German affiliate of the Russian oil company Rosneft and stolen 20 terabytes of data. A senior security official told DER SPIEGEL that the attackers penetrated deep into the systems and could have caused the control functions to crash. Rosneft has filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin State Criminal Police Office and reported the incident to the BSI, as it is obliged to do as a critical infrastructure company.
US embassy handed note over Meta statements – Ryabkov
The US Embassy in Moscow has been handed a note over Meta Platforms conduct, informing that Russia will start a criminal case against Meta Platforms over Meta’s temporary change in policy, allowing Facebook and Instagram users to call for violence against Russian soldiers.
Intelligence agencies investigate sabotage of satellite internet in Ukraine
The US National Security Agency, the French government cybersecurity organisation ANSSI, and Ukrainian intelligence are reportedly investigating a cyberattack that disrupted broadband satellite internet access provided by the US telecoms firm Viasat on 24 February, the first day of the Russian invasion.
Viasat said that the disruption for European and Ukrainian customers was triggered by a ‘deliberate, isolated and external cyber event’ but has yet to provide a detailed, public explanation of what happened. Viasat’s spokesperson informed that ‘the network is stabilised and we are restoring service and activating terminals as quickly as possible.’
Meta explains policy on calls for violence that angered Russia
Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, announced that it will temporarily allow posts containing improper content directed against Russian aggression, including calls for President Putin’s death. The changes in content policy are meant to allow Ukrainians to voice their discontent with the ongoing situation. Meta also confirmed that the temporary change will only be applied in Ukraine.
Instagram users in Russia have the weekend to move content, notify subscribers
Russia’s telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor will block Instagram on Russian territory from Monday, 14 March. The agency is giving Instagram users in Russia an additional 48-hour transfer period to move their photos and videos and notify their subscribers that they are quitting the social media platform.
Roskomnadzor blocks access to Instagram
Russia’s telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor restricted access to Instagram on Russian territory. The decision was made in response to ‘calls for violence against citizens of the Russian Federation, including servicemen’ on Instagram. The regulator’s decision follows a request by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to block access to Instagram. This ban does not apply to WhatsApp, reportedly because it is a means of communication not used for public posting.
Russia moves to designate Meta as an extremist organisation
Russia moved to designate Meta Platforms as an extremist organisation over Meta’s temporary change in policy, which allows Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russian soldiers. The Russian Office of the Prosecutor General petitioned a court to make such a decision, which would also mean a ban on all Meta activities in Russia.
If the court approves the petition, owners of Facebook accounts will not be considered extremists, clarified Russian Federation Council Constitutional Legislation and State-Building Committee head Andrei Klishas.