Facebook and Instagram banned in Russia as 'extremist'

Facebook and Instagram were banned on Monday by a Russian court as "extremist" organizations, after an application by the prosecutor general.

The two services are already blocked in Russia; the messenger service WhatsApp, which also belongs to the US group Meta, is not affected by the ruling, according to the court.

The background to the move is a decision by Meta not to remove calls for violence against Russian troops in Ukraine.

Twitter is also currently blocked in Russia.