Moscow: According to an online database maintained by the country’s interior ministry, Russia has put a spokesman for Meta, the American technology company that owns Facebook and Instagram, on its wanted list. Let us tell you that Meta is the owner of Facebook and Instagram. Russian news agency TASS first reported that Meta communications director Andy Stone was added to the list on Sunday.
Just weeks after Russian authorities classified Meta as a “terrorist and extremist” organization in October, the door opened for possible criminal prosecution against Russian citizens who use its platform, according to news agency AP. An Interior Ministry database does not provide details of the case against Stone, only that he is wanted on criminal charges. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Stone was placed on a wanted list in February 2022, according to MediaZona, an independent news website covering Russia’s opposition and prison system. But officials did not make a related statement at the time, and no news media reported on the matter until this week. In March this year, Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation into Meta.
The investigation alleged that the company’s actions after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 amounted to inciting violence against Russians. After Russian troops moved into Ukraine, Stone announced a temporary change to Meta’s hate speech policy to allow forms of political expression that would normally violate (its) rules, such as violent Russian speeches such as death to aggressors. In a similar statement, Stone said credible calls for violence against Russian citizens would remain banned.
It was claimed on Sunday that a Russian court had issued an arrest warrant for Stone earlier this month on charges of promoting terrorism. The report did not disclose the source of the information, which could not be independently verified. It is known that Russia also formally barred Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from entering the country.
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Tags: Russia, Vladimir Putin
First published: November 27, 2023, 07:39 IST