Facebook deals another blow to Russia. In these last hours, in fact, the platform withdrew all advertising from the country. And it is refused to publish ads from Russian advertisers anywhere in the world. But let’s find out in more detail what repercussions the blocking of Facebook Ads will have for the Russians.
Facebook Ads: stop to Russian advertisers!
“Due to the difficulties of operating in Russia at the moment, ads targeting people in Russia will be suspended. And advertisers in Russia will no longer be able to create or run ads anywhere in the world, including Russia “. So Facebook announced the blocking of ads in Russia. A decision that comes after the Russian regulator of technology and communications Roskomnadzor officially declared having blocked Facebook, after limiting access to users for about a week. In response, Nick Clegg – Meta’s president of global affairs – said the company “will continue to do everything possible to restore i [suoi] services so that they remain available to people to express themselves and organize themselves safely for action “.
The decision to block Facebook Ads in Russia, therefore, comes at the end of a rather turbulent week. After a series of conflicts with Roskomnadzor, the platform first blocked access in Europe to Russian-run news sites RT and Sputnik. It then extended it to all national state media, which are impossible to access from both Facebook and Instagram. The decision to block Russian advertisers was only the final act of a series of actions undertaken by Meta. And the company doesn’t seem frightened at all by the impact this decision may have on its revenue. In this regard Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, recently estimated that if “the US tech world pulled the plug on Russia, it would have an impact on revenues of 1% -2% in the worst case scenario”. In short, the blocking of Facebook Ads could be just the first of a long series of actions aimed at hitting Russia. Let’s expect others.