Russia Adds Meta To List Of ¡®Terrorist And Extremist¡¯ Organisations; Here's What It Means

American IT giant Meta Platforms Inc. has been added to Rosfinmonitoring's list of "terrorists and extremists," according to Russian media organizations on Tuesday. After being convicted guilty of "extremist conduct" in Russia in March, Meta¡ªthe company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp¡ªhad its appeal denied by a Moscow court in June.

At the time, Meta's attorney testified in court that Meta was not participating in extremist activity and was averse to Russophobia.

Meta did not reply to an e-mail request for comment on Tuesday.

Rosfinmonitoring¡¯s list concerns "organizations and individuals about which there is information about their involvement in extremist activities or terrorism".

Facebook and Instagram are not accessible in Moscow. Many Russian users still use virtual private networks (VPNs), whose demand soared as several Western internet services were blocked in March.

As per the TASS news agency, the government agency that regulates communications, Roskomnadzor, has updated its list of VPNs that are banned. Though many VPNs continue to function, it started trying to block them in 2021.

Officials have regularly said Meta¡¯s "extremist" tag does not extend to its WhatsApp messenger service.

"Meta's social network users are not breaking the law," senior lawmaker Andrey Klishas wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.

"There are no restrictions concerning WhatsApp Messenger," he added.

However, lawyers and digital rights groups have reported that Facebook and Instagram users are being warned over some posts.

Reuters

Pavel Chikov, a human rights attorney, has warned that the criminal code of Russia may make it unlawful to merely show the Instagram and Facebook logos or run advertisements on those platforms.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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