This Sunday, Russian authorities put on the wanted list a representative of the social network Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, after the company was classified as “extremist” in Russia, AFP reported.
Andy Stone’s name appeared in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs database of those wanted for violating the criminal code.
Russian authorities have not specified what they accuse Meta’s public relations director of.
In October 2022, Russia officially designated the North American group as a “terrorist and extremist” organization, opening the door to more serious legal action against its users in the country.
Facebook and Instagram have also been blocked in Russia since the Russian offensive began in Ukraine and are inaccessible without a virtual private network (VPN), as are Twitter and a large number of social networking sites critical of the government.
Before the ban, millions of Russians used meta-applications, namely Instagram, a network that, despite the blockade, continues to be very popular among the country’s youth.
In April 2022, Russia added the owner of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, to the “black list” of persons prohibited from entering the country.