Russia: restriction of access to the Instagram network worries influencers
Instagram's app logo (Illustrative image).
AP - Jenny Kane
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
From next Monday, Russia will restrict access to the social network it accuses of spreading calls for violence.
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Instagram's access restriction, which comes into effect after the social network relaxed its rules on violent messages aimed at the military and Russian leaders due to the war in Ukraine, is of great concern to entrepreneurs and influencers in Russia .
Sergey Koluzhniy, a Russian blogger with 180,000 subscribers lost everything overnight.
100% of his income came from Instagram.
And it still can't believe that from Monday, the platform will no longer be accessible to more than 50 million Russian users.
"
I don't think this decision is justified.
But I'm mostly worried about small businesses selling their products on Instagram.
Thousands of people will lose their jobs,
he laments
.
Yes, they will go on other allowed apps.
But these will earn them a maximum of 30% of their previous income.
»
The platform is extremely popular with Russian youth.
Above all, Instagram has also become a crucial online sales tool for many Russian small and medium-sized businesses, as well as artists and artisans, who depend on their visibility on this platform for a living.
Instagram is also one of the social networks most used by Russian opponents, such as
Alexei Navalny
, a pet peeve of the Kremlin, whose team continues to publish messages despite his imprisonment for more than a year.
►Also read: Russia: one year after the arrest of Alexeï Navalny, the opposition still repressed
Since the announcement, many influencers have migrated to still authorized networks such as Telegram or Vkontakte.
But Sergey and his subscribers have found a way around this ban thanks to VPNs.
These are private networks that allow access to content blocked in a country in a confidential manner.
“
I will continue to use Instagram thanks to the VPN which are not yet banned in Russia.
I did a survey on my page and 70% of my subscribers will also use the platform thanks to this alternative.
»
But Russian authorities could decide to put Instagram and
on the list of organizations designated as “
extremist
” for having authorized violent messages towards the Kremlin.
Earlier on Friday, Russian authorities announced that they were taking legal action against Meta Group, the house that owns Instagram, as well as Facebook and WhatsApp, accusing it of spreading "
calls for murder
" against Russians.
Many like Sergey now fear that simply posting on the platform will expose them to censorship or repression.
►Also read: Invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the crucial role of Russian disinformation
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