Facebook owner defends policy as Russia opens criminal case

Russian prosecutors asked a court to designate the US tech giant as an "extremist organisation", and the communications regulator said it was restricting access to Meta's Instagram

A Meta spokesperson said on Thursday the company had temporarily eased its rules for political speech, allowing posts such as "death to the Russian invaders," although it would not allow calls for violence against Russian civilians. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Facebook owner Meta Platforms said Friday that a temporary change in its content policy, only for Ukraine, was needed to let users voice opposition to Russia's attack, as Russia opened a criminal case after the company said it would allow posts such as "death to the Russian invaders."

Russia opened the criminal case against Facebook's parent Meta Platforms on Friday after the social network changed its hate speech rules to allow users to call for "death to the Russian invaders" in the context of the war with Ukraine.