The same Moscow court that last week banned Facebook and Instagram in Russia now says citizens can use the social media platforms so long as the activities are legal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On March 21, the Tverskoy Court banned the platforms as "extremist" organisations after an application by the prosecutor general.
The parent company Meta was accused of not removing calls for violence against Russian troops in Ukraine.
Even before the ban the two services had been officially blocked to users in Russia, although they remained widely available by using VPN services.
VPNs allow internet users to skirt government censorship to access restricted sites.
Given their murky legal status, many people who used the two social networks to earn money had feared for their livelihoods after the latest crackdown.
But the court offered a clarification, of sorts, on Monday, according to Russia's TASS news agency.
"These measures of judicial protection do not limit the use of Meta's software products by individuals and legal entities not participating in activities prohibited by law," the court's decision read, according to TASS.
Russian members of parliament had recently declared that they were not planning to enact a general ban on VPN use.
Australian Associated Press