Instagram users in Russia and Ukraine can now opt for encryption of their private messages. This feature was announced by Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs:
“We believe our priorities are first to continue to make our services available for people to use in the safest and most secure way possible. »
The objective for Meta is to offer a secure conversation system to Ukrainians, but also to Russians. Indeed, there are creators, influencers, activists and musicians in Russia who use social networks to denounce and obtain information on the war in Ukraine, for example by accessing the speeches of President Zelensky. They can also use encryption in WhatsApp (enabled by default), and Facebook Messenger.
Meta also allows Russian and Ukrainian users to lock their Facebook profiles, limiting access to photos and posts to friends only, and to remove the ability to view and search friend lists.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company is also stepping up its efforts to fight misinformation about the war in Ukraine. It is also trying to counter Facebook posts from users linked to Russian state media.
In retaliation, Russia began to restrict the social network inside its territory. Nick Clegg indicated that a degradation of service was clearly noticeable, particularly at the level of photos and videos.
On the other hand, Meta did not block its services in Russia, as requested by the Ukrainian government, in order to promote communication, expression and protest among Russian users.
Sources : Protocol, TechCrunch