Russian court arrested in absentia Meta Corporation spokesman Andy Stone, since the corporation allowed parts of social network users Facebook* And Instagram* wish death on Russians. Stone was also blacklisted by Rosfinmonitoring.
At the same time, Rosfinmonitoring included Stone in the list of persons and organizations in relation to which there is information about their involvement in extremist activities or terrorism.
Reason for the criminal case against Meta
Stone was put on the Russian and international wanted list at the end of 2023. The reason was his statement that Meta was lifting restrictions on the social network Facebook* that it owns, restrictions on the dissemination of calls for violence against the Russian military, as it is a “form of political expression” .
zona.media, 03/11/2022, “Facebook and Instagram users were temporarily allowed to call for the “death of the Russian invaders””: Meta has temporarily allowed calls for the “death of Russian invaders” on Facebook and Instagram due to the war in Ukraine. This was announced by company press secretary Andy Stone in twitter.
“Amid Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)’s invasion of Ukraine, we have temporarily allowed forms of political expression that typically violate our rules, such as calls for the death of Russian invaders. We continue to not tolerate genuine calls for violence against Russian civilians,” said the screenshot posted by Stone. — Insert K.ru
After this, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Meta employees in connection with their illegal actions, expressed in calls for violence against Russian citizens.
How Facebook and Instagram were blocked in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)*
Relations between the Russian authorities and the Meta corporation deteriorated in early 2022 after the start of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)’s special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine. First, Roskomnadzor limited the speed of access to Facebook, and then completely blocked social network in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism). The reason was the blocking of accounts of Russian state media by the administration of the social network.
It later turned out that Meta Corporation allowed users of its social networks to spread death wishes against Russian soldiers, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin (*international criminal). Andy Stone confirmed this information on his Twitter account (current name – X).
After this, Roskomnadzor, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office, blocked access to another Meta product – the social network Instagram*. At the same time, the Tverskoy Court of Moscow recognized the Meta corporation as extremist and banned its activities in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).
In the fall of 2022, Rosfinmonitoring included Meta in the list of terrorists and extremists. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also banned the founder of Facebook and the main owner of Meta Mark Zuckerberg (Mark Zuckerberg) entry into Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).
At the same time, Meta Corporation’s third product, WhatsApp messenger, continues to operate in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism). However, when a new function of information channels appeared in WhatsApp, it turned out to be unavailable for Russians.
* On March 21, 2022, the Meta company was recognized by the Tverskoy Court of Moscow as an extremist organization. The activities of her social networks Facebook and Instagram are prohibited in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism).