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Hey all, it’s Kurt Wagner in San Francisco. Instagram will stop working in Russia on Monday. But first...Today’s top tech news: Shares of Ch [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hey all, it’s Kurt Wagner in San Francisco. Instagram will stop working in Russia on Monday. But first... Today’s top tech news: - Shares of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi [sank 44%]( on Friday - YouTube dropped [Russian state outlet RTÂ]( - The EU will review [crypto regulations]( A Facebook-Russia Breakup? The headlines sounded bizarre and [even brutal](: Facebook relaxed a policy against calls for violence when it came to Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The move prompted Russia to [shut down Instagram](, also owned by Meta Platforms Inc., not long after the country cut off Facebook. Russians still have access to Meta’s WhatsApp, but it’s clear their already limited ability to log onto an unfettered internet has been curtailed. How did we get here? It’s a saga that illustrates Western companies’ conflicting interests in the country. First, Meta blocked Russian state-backed media from operating on its platforms in Ukraine and the European Union, and ignored Russia’s request to stop fact-checking its state-media outlets. Russia then throttled Facebook in the country, making it harder to use, before blocking the main social network entirely on March 4. Late last week, Facebook relaxed the policy against calls for violence, allowing people in Ukraine to share posts about wanting to attack or even kill the Russian invaders and leaders. Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, [defended]( the policy change on Twitter Friday. “If we applied our standard content policies without any adjustments we would now be removing content from ordinary Ukrainians expressing their resistance and fury at the invading military forces,” he wrote, “which would rightly be viewed as unacceptable.” Clegg added that users still couldn’t post hate speech toward ordinary Russian citizens. And on Sunday, the company clarified that the [rules still prohibited]( calling for the death of a head of state, like Russian President Vladimir Putin. It’s an open question whether Facebook and Instagram will ever make it back to Russia after all this is over. It’s clear that Russian leaders believe the company has taken sides against it. It’s also hard to imagine Meta changing its mind or apologizing for its policy decisions. I recently [chatted]( with Joshua Tucker, a professor at New York University who runs the school’s Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia, and he pointed out that while Russia has historically used these networks to try and spread propaganda, the government has more recently been closing off media and communication channels entirely. It’s an approach that makes the country look more like China, which has a closed version of the internet. “My guess is that this [war] will only accelerate” that change, Tucker says. If Russia does decide to block Facebook more permanently, there isn’t a huge business incentive for Meta to bend over backwards to get back into the country. Meta has shut down all ads from Russian businesses and all ads targeting Russian users as part of its response to the war. On Thursday, Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner [said]( at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley that this amounts to just 1.5% of Meta’s annual revenue – notable, but a much smaller impact than, say, the $10 billion Meta says it will lose because of Apple Inc.’s new privacy changes. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has always said that his company’s goal is to connect everyone in the world, including in places like China and Russia. That mission has turned out to be much more difficult than the company expected. —[Kurt Wagner](mailto:kwagner71@bloomberg.net) If you read one thing The story of a crypto startup that got [stuck in Ukraine](. What else you need to know Bloomberg’s Apple guru Mark Gurman shares his thoughts on the iPhone SE, iPad Air and Mac Studio along with the company’s future display plans in the [Power On newsletter](. A former president of Nintendo doesn’t think Facebook will succeed in[the metaverse](. A-Rod and Thrive Capital back a “stock market” for [fans of athletes](. What to watch: Flexport is trying to help Ukraine [with logistics](. Follow Us More from Bloomberg Dig gadgets or video games? [Sign up for Power On]( to get Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more in your inbox on Sundays. [Sign up for Game On]( to go deep inside the video game business, delivered on Fridays. Why not try both? Like Fully Charged? | [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](