Meta misses deadline to file appeal against Russia's ban on Facebook and Instagram: Report

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has missed the deadline to appeal Russia's ban on Facebook and Instagram, as per a report from Russia's news agency RIA Novosti. As per the report, Meta did not file an appeal, which means Meta has now lost the right to appeal the Russian government's decision to ban Facebook and Instagram. Moscow banned the social media apps back in March, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia labelled these social media platforms as "extremist", although many Russian users are still active on these platforms. 

Russians are using these platforms through a virtual private network and the Russian government has stated that there will be no punishments for Russians who are accessing the social media platforms through virtual private networks. One potential reason behind Meta's decision to not appeal the ban may be the fact that Meta is struggling with bigger challenges. Meta has witnessed a fall in its share prices, and people are questioning CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to pivot the company towards the Metaverse. Meta's stock has plummeted 70 percent this year. Facebook's name changed to Meta as a result of this pivot to metaverse, and it is not just a name change, as Zuckerberg is directing a significant amount of money for R&D in the field of virtual reality. 

Why is Meta struggling?

Today, Meta also fired 13 percent of its staff, which amounts to around 11,000 people. In other words, 11,000 people who worked for Meta lost their jobs today. Meta is also struggling with a weak advertising market, which has impacted Google as well. Meta has also announced a hiring freeze. Back in September, Zuckerberg had warned that Meta will have to cut costs. "This is obviously a different mode than we're used to operating in. For the first 18 years of the company, we basically grew quickly basically every year, and then more recently our revenue has been flat to slightly down for the first time. So we have to adjust," said Zuckerberg during a question and answer session in September. After announcing the decision to lay off 11,000 people, Zuckerberg released a statement, which read - 

"Today I'm sharing some of the most difficult changes we've made in Meta's history. I've decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go. We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1. I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I'm especially sorry to those impacted."