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| Russia Bans Instagram As Promised |
Russia's promised ban on the Instagram platform has gone into effect because the vast majority of the country's population does not have access to the social media platform, according to internet monitoring service GlobalCheck.
The country last week announced plans to block Instagram in response to parent company Meta's decision to allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to advocate violence against Russian soldiers after Ukraine invaded each country.
Russia restricts access to online platforms to control the flow of war information.
Russian authorities blocked access to Facebook on March 4, citing the platform's discrimination against Russian state media. This led to the closure of one of the most popular platforms for Kremlin critics to express their opinions and organize protests.
The move has cut off 80 million people in Russia from each other and the rest of the world, with 80% of Russians following accounts on the platform abroad, Adam Mosseri said in a tweet.
Russian influencers - who are on the verge of losing thousands of dollars they earned to promote different products - sent farewell messages to their followers on the platform. Encourage them to follow them on other platforms or download a VPN to bypass the country ban.
Russia blocks access to 80 million Instagram users
The platform ban is the latest example of Russian citizens being isolated from the rest of the world due to Moscow's war against Ukraine.
On Friday, the Russian communications organization Roskomnadzor officially banned the platform. But it did give Russian users a 48-hour grace period to bid farewell to the popular app, triggering a mass exodus.
Instagram has given Russians, including wealthy oligarchs and their families, a platform to speak out against the war.
Sofia Abramovich, daughter of billionaire Roman Abramovich, shared an anti-Putin post on the platform before it was removed. Meanwhile, the wealthy Russian banker Oleg Tinkov declared war unacceptable.
After US and European sanctions against the Central Bank of Russia led to the devaluation of the ruble, many international companies announced that they were withdrawing from the Russian market or stopping their activities in the country, citing the war in Ukraine.