Russia demands US stop Meta for 'inciting hatred against citizens'

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The Russian government is demanding that the U.S. stop Meta, Facebook and Instagram's parent company, for allegedly allowing "extremist activities" on its platforms.

On Friday, the Russian embassy accused Meta of "aggressive and criminal behavior" after the company lifted a ban on users who call for violence against Russia, a drastic change to its hate speech policy. 

Inciting violence on the platform is typically met with a lengthy ban, like former President Donald Trump's permanent ban from Facebook (The initial ban was overturned by the company's oversight board and is now a two-year ban).

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"Meta's aggressive and criminal policy leading to incitement of hatred and hostility towards Russians is outrageous," the Russian embassy said in a statement, Reuters reported. "The company's actions are yet another evidence of the information war without rules declared on our country."

The embassy then called for the U.S. government to "stop the extremist activities of Meta and take measures to bring the perpetrators to justice," according to the report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the Valdai Discussion Club's plenary meeting on Oct. 21, 2021, in Sochi, Russia.  ( Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Russian Security and Anti-Corruption Committee Chair Duma Volodin similarly said he was prepared to take prosecutorial action against Meta for "inciting hatred against citizens," the state-owned Russian news agency TASS reported.

On Thursday, Meta announced it would temporarily allow posts that call for the death of Russian officials, including calls for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, after the two leaders invaded Ukraine, according to Reuters.

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The change solely affects users in Russia, Ukraine and Poland, according to the report. 

Google, Meta, and Twitter recently took action against Russian-controlled social media accounts that spread misinformation or harmful information, at the request of the European Union, the Atlantic Council reported. 

The Grand Kremlin palace, left, and the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.  (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

News outlets RT and Sputnik are among those restricted by the platforms, according to the report. The platforms have also demonetized Russian state-owned accounts on Facebook and Instagram, and they are reportedly no longer able to post ads.  

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Putin recently signed a law banning "fake" information that would jail journalists for reports calling the war in Ukraine a "war." 

"We are registering a large amount, simply a barrage of fake news on the course of the special military operation, casualties and so on. It is clear that most of it is generated in Ukraine. Nevertheless, it is willingly spread by some Russian media outlets and also by users in social networks. The Security and Anti-Corruption Committee is now analyzing this information," Head of the State Duma Security and Anti-Corruption Committee Vasily Piskarev said.