Moscow, Oct 12 (PTI) Russia's financial watchdog has added US tech giant Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, to a list of organisations involved in terrorism and extremism, the latest escalation against the company since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service Rosfinmonitoring announced this on Tuesday, the official Tass news agency reported. Rosfinmonitoring said "amendments have been made to the list of organisations and individuals in respect of which there is information about their involvement in extremist activities or terrorism."

Also Read | Burqa Ban: Switzerland Proposes $1,000 Fine on Those Violating Ban on Face Coverings in Public; To Implement Prohibition With Few Exemptions.

There was no reaction from Meta to the latest Russian government's move.

A Russian court in March had banned Facebook and Instagram in the country, labelling its parent company Meta as “extremist” amid the Kremlin's crackdown on western social media giants.

Also Read | Rodent Plague Kills Two in Tibet, Chinese Authorities Warn Residents To Stay at Home.

It followed Meta's announcement that the platforms would allow statements like “death to Russian invaders” but not credible threats against civilians, before saying the change only applied to users posting from inside Ukraine.

Meta appealed against the ban but it was upheld by a Moscow court in June.

The decision on Tuesday puts Meta on the same list as right-wing nationalist groups; foreign “terrorist organisations”, including the Taliban; and Russian opposition groups.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)