Sources: USA Today
Meta Platforms bans Russian state media from Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, including RT and Rossiya Segodnya, citing alleged deceptive tactics used by the networks to carry out "influence operations" while evading detection. 2024-09-17
The European Union opens a formal investigation into Meta for potential breaches in online content rules relating to child safety on Facebook and Instagram, which violate the Digital Services Act. 2024-05-16
Facebook and Instagram starts to allow users in Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and the Caucasus to promote violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the war in Ukraine, which is normally restricted, according to internal emails. A Meta spokesperson states that "As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to the Russian invaders.'" However, calls for violence against Russian prisoners of war and "credible calls for violence against Russian civilians" will remain prohibited. Death threats against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will also be permitted. Meta's spokesperson adds that they are, "for the time being, making a narrow exception for praise of the Azov Regiment strictly in the context of defending Ukraine, or in their role as part of the Ukraine National Guard," which was previously forbidden. 2022-03-10
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus experience an extended global outage that began at 15:39 UTC. Some experts believe that the outage was caused by a BGP update from Facebook. 2021-10-4
American technology company Facebook, Inc. reports that multiple Internet service providers in Myanmar have restricted access to its social networking services, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The company has urged authorities to restore connectivity. 2021-02-4
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are blocked in Turkey, while YouTube and WhatsApp are partially restricted. It is understood that the measures are intended to protect details surrounding troop and equipment deployments. 2020-02-27
Following the attack, which was livestreamed on Facebook, the social network teams up with the Metropolitan Police of London. Facebook is providing bodycams to the force's firearms officers to help train its artificial intelligence systems, enabling it to automatically detect and remove live first-person footage of violent incidents. The company says it previously had insufficient footage for its software to suitably match fresh footage with, and has been criticised for its role in the shooting. Instagram say they will also participate. 2019-09-17
Facebook and Instagram ban political figures Alex Jones, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Paul Nehlen, David Duke and Laura Loomer, from their platforms and remove their pages for allegedly engaging in "violence and hate". 2019-05-2
Austrian privacy organization NOYB files complaints to regulators in four EU countries alleging that Facebook, Google, Instagram, and WhatsApp are violating the GDPR. 2018-05-25
Social networking service Facebook, and its photo-sharing subsidiary Instagram, ban private, person-to-person sales of guns via their services. 2016-01-30