April 2022 | Volume 13, Issue 


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“Russia Opens Criminal Case against Meta Following Temporary Hate Speech Policy Change”

According to the article, Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against Facebook parent company Meta Platforms accusing the company's employees of "illegal calls for murder and violence" against Russian citizens, according to a statement the committee published recently.

The case follows a temporary change to Meta's hate speech policy that allows some Facebook and Instagram users to express violent sentiments against Russian armed forces invading Ukraine. "A criminal case has been initiated in the Main Investigation Department of the Russian Investigative Committee in connection with illegal calls for murder and violence against citizens of the Russian Federation by employees of the American company Meta, which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram," the Investigative Committee's statement said, citing the policy change. "These actions contain signs of crimes under Articles 280 and 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - public calls for extremist activities; assistance to terrorist activities," the statement reads.

Meta did not immediately respond to the media’s request for comment regarding Russia's criminal investigation. However, in a recent statement, the company noted that the policy change does not allow calls for violence against Russians outside of the context of the Ukraine invasion.

Reuters reported recently, getting access to internal Meta emails which allege the company will allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against the Russian military invading Ukraine. Meta later clarified that it would only apply the policy change for users in Ukraine. "In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces such as 'death to the Russian invaders.' These are temporary measures designed to preserve voice and expression for people who are facing invasion," Meta said in a recent statement. "As always, we are prohibiting calls for violence against Russians outside of the narrow context of the current invasion."

Roskonadzor, Russia's information watchdog, said it will restrict access to Instagram, saying the "social network distributes informational materials containing calls to commit violent acts against citizens of the Russian Federation, including military personnel."

Clegg recently released a statement saying the policy change is "focused on protecting people's rights to speech as an expression of self-defense in reaction to a military invasion of their country." "We have no quarrel with the Russian people," Clegg said in the statement. "There is no change at all in our policies on hate speech as far as the Russian people are concerned. We will not tolerate Russophobia or any kind of discrimination, harassment or violence towards Russians on our platform."

Roskonadzor plans to block access to Instagram starting on Monday to allow time for users to transfer their photos and videos to other platforms, the agency said in an update. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri said the move will affect 80 million users in Russia, around 80% of whom follow at least one Instagram account from outside of the country. "The situation is terrifying and we're trying to do all that we can to keep people safe," Mosseri said in a video posted to Instagram.

The new restrictions come amid a broader crackdown on tech companies in Russia. Last week, Moscow said it would ban Facebook in the country in response to what it said were restrictions of access to Russian media on the platform. Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said the decision came after it refused to stop fact-checking and labeling content from Russian state-controlled media. In response to the Facebook ban, Clegg said the company was doing "everything we can to restore our services" but that "millions of ordinary Russians" will soon "find themselves cut off from reliable information."

Moscow has also restricted access to Twitter in the country.

Discussion Questions

1. Explain the temporary change to Meta’s hate speech policy.

As indicated in the article, the temporary change to Meta's hate speech policy  allows some Facebook and Instagram users to express violent sentiments against Russian armed forces invading Ukraine. According to Meta, the policy change only applies to users in Ukraine. See also the following statement from Meta, referenced in the article, which helps describe the change to Meta’s hate speech policy, as well as the justification for the change: "In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces such as 'death to the Russian invaders.' These are temporary measures designed to preserve voice and expression for people who are facing invasion," Meta said in a recent statement. "As always, we are prohibiting calls for violence against Russians outside of the narrow context of the current invasion."

2. In your reasoned opinion, is the temporary change to Meta’s hate speech policy warranted and justifiable? Why or why not?

Although student responses may vary in response to this question, in your author’s opinion, the temporary change to Meta’s hate speech policy is both warranted and justifiable. Note that the change protects the expression of sentiment (feelings and beliefs) narrowly tailored to apply to the Russian invasion.

3. Regardless of Russia’s position regarding Meta, should the company voluntarily cease business operations in the country? Why or why not?

This is an opinion question, and student responses will likely vary. In your author’s opinion, this is both a business decision and an ethical decision that only Meta can make. With that being said, Meta stakeholders and the media can certainly influence Meta’s ultimate decision as to whether to cease business operations in Russia.