Russia: Meta classified as a “terrorist and extremist” organization.

Russia has officially designated the American giant Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, as the “terrorist and extremist” organization of the Russian financial monitoring service, we note this Tuesday on the website of this government body. This procedure opens up the possibility of strengthened legal proceedings against its users in the country.

In March, a Russian court had already banned Meta for “extremism”, a few days after block in Russia from Instagram and Facebook, as inaccessible in the country without a virtual private network (VPN), like Twitter and many power-critical media sites.

Since the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Russian authorities have implemented an exacerbated crackdown on critics of the conflict, with thousands of fines and dozens of criminal cases punishable by heavy prison terms. Meta’s official recognition as a “terrorist and extremist” organization makes it easier to prosecute its users in Russia.

On the Telegram messaging system, still authorized in the country, the well-known lawyer Pavel Tchikov indicated on Tuesday that criminal proceedings could be initiated in several cases: if a person publicly mentions Meta without indicating its status as a banned organization, or if it shows the logo of the company and its subsidiaries. Furthermore, according to the lawyer, Russian companies that use Meta’s social networks to distribute advertisements, or work with these applications, could also be accused of being part of an “extremist” organization.

Prior to its ban, millions of Russians used Meta’s apps, most notably Instagram, a network that remains popular with the country’s youth despite being blocked. Meta also owns WhatsApp messaging, which is also very popular in Russia. However, in March, Russian justice had not ordered the blocking of this question, considering it was not used as a means of “public disclosure of information”.