Russia has placed the spokesperson of U.S. tech giant Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, on their wanted list, as per the country’s interior ministry’s online database.
The inclusion of Andy Stone on the list was first reported on Sunday by Russian state agency Tass and independent news outlet Mediazona. This comes after Russian authorities classified Meta as a “terrorist and extremist” organization in October, potentially leading to criminal proceedings against Russian users of its platforms.
The interior ministry’s database does not provide specifics about the case against Stone, only stating that he is wanted on criminal charges.
According to Mediazona, Stone’s addition to the wanted list occurred in February 2022. However, there were no official statements at the time, and the matter remained unreported until now.
In March of the same year, Russia’s federal Investigative Committee initiated a criminal investigation of Meta, alleging that the company’s actions subsequent to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine incited violence against Russians.
Following Russia’s incursion into Ukraine, Stone announced temporary adjustments to Meta’s hate speech policy to allow certain forms of political expression that would typically violate the rules, such as “death to the Russian invaders.” Stone also emphasized that “credible calls for violence against Russian civilians” will continue to be prohibited.
Mediazona reported on Sunday that an unspecified Russian court had issued an arrest warrant for Stone earlier in the month on charges of “facilitating terrorism.” The source of this information, however, was not specified and could not be independently verified.
Before the full-scale conflict in Ukraine, popular Western social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, were widely used by young Russians. But they have since been blocked in the country as part of a broader crackdown on independent media and critical speech, and are now only accessible via VPN.
In addition, in April 2022, Russia officially prohibited Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from entering the country.
