Meta's Spokesperson, Andy Stone, Becomes A Target Of Russian Interior Ministry

A Meta Platforms Inc.’s META spokesperson has been added to Russia’s criminal wanted list. 

What Happened: Over the weekend, Russia’s interior ministry website updated and stated that Andy Stone, a Meta spokesperson, “is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” reported Politico (via Russian state-owned news agency TASS).

The reasons behind Stone’s listing under a specific provision of the Russian Criminal Code remain undisclosed. 

See Also: Are Facebook And Instagram Underreporting Harmful Content? Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Faces More Serious Claims

Meta, the parent company of renowned platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, was declared a “terrorist and extremist” entity by Moscow last year. This happened after Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine. 

This led to intensifying legal actions against the company’s users within Russia.

The report noted that social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, now rebranded as X, are currently prohibited in Russia and can only be accessed through Virtual Private Networks or VPNs. 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Russian authorities announced that they had neutralized 24 Ukrainian drones. 

Why It Matters: The ongoing tussle between Meta and Russia has a history. 

WhatsApp faced its first fine in Russia in May this year due to its refusal to remove banned content. The potential penalty was up to 4 million rubles (approximately $51,500 at the time). 

Last year in October, a Russian lawmaker proposed a ban on WhatsApp for state institutions, highlighting Russia’s agenda to distance itself from Western technologies. The lawmaker, Anton Gorelkin, also suggested that he would delete WhatsApp and advised state institutions to do the same.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.