Instagram no longer accessible in Russia

Moscow, Russia: Instagram was inaccessible in Russia on Monday after Moscow accused its parent company Meta of allowing calls for violence against Russians, including the military, on its platforms.

The development was inevitable as users of the platform in the country were notified of the upcoming situation. Instagram had on Sunday said that its services in Russia amid the war with Ukraine would be shut post-midnight.

The platform's head, Adam Mosseri, had said that the decision would cut 80 million users in Vladamir Putin-governed Russia, where the platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok also remain highly popular.

Following this, an email message from the state communications regulator told people to move their photos and videos from Instagram before it was shut down, and encouraged them to switch to Russia's own "competitive internet platforms".

The move comes after Facebook and Twitter were blocked in early March as part of sweeping efforts by Moscow to control information available to Russians about its military operation in Ukraine.

Instagram appeared Monday on a list of "restricted" online resources on a list published by Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor.

Instagram's app was not refreshing without a VPN, AFP journalists said.

Facebook and Instagram are widely used in Russia, the latter being the most popular social media platform among young Russians.

For many small Russian businesses, Instagram was a key platform for advertising, processing sales and communicating with clients.