Tensions between Russia and international tech giant Meta, parent company of Facebook, and Instagram, continues to heat up with the announcement that Russia will be launching their own Instagram-like service, Rossgram.
The digital conflict began almost at the same time as actual fighting broke out in Ukraine with Facebook issuing a press release where they claimed employees detected and removed two disinformation campaigns run by groups in Russia and Ukraine [1]. Mr. Putin responded by threatening to ban Facebook from Russia entirely [2] and even going so far as to label Meta as an extremist organization [3]. The two sides seemed to be reaching a breaking point when Meta announced that it would not be removing death threats aimed at Mr. Putin nor would it be censoring calls for violence against Russian troops who have invaded Ukraine [4].
Falling back on the old Soviet model of nationalization seems to be all the rage in Russian policy circles. In response to international boycotts and the mounting economic pressure that comes with it the Russian government has pledged to take over Western companies and factories that have closed in response to the unprovoked Ukrainian invasion [5]. The nationalization fever has gripped the airline industry as well [6] and threatens to consume another tech giant, Microsoft, as well [7].
As of this writing it is unclear when Rossgram will launch or if it will be internationally available. However, what is clear is that the war in Ukraine continues to have a profound impact on all levels of our interconnected world. One has to ask how long the intellectual property framework, the agreed upon rules that have allowed technological advances to cross borders rather freely, can withstand an onslaught on its basic norms and rules?