Russia’s Prosecutor General asked a court to formally designate Facebook and Instagram owner Meta as an extremist organization. “Consistent with the Federal Law on Countering Extremist Activities, the Russian Prosecutor General’s office has lodged a motion with a court for designating Meta Platforms Inc. as an extremist organization and banning its operations in the territory of the Russian Federation,” said the office on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency. At the same time, the Russian Investigative Committee said it was probing the social media company “in light of unlawful calls for violence against citizens of the Russian Federation by employees of the U.S. company Meta.” It came after Meta spokesman Andy Stone said that Facebook temporarily lifted a ban on calls for violence against Russian soldiers on its platforms. The Russian Prosecutor General cited Stone’s remark for the ban. “As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances …