advertising on Instagram must be labeled, despite blocking – Kommersant

Roskomnadzor prescribes that advertising on Instagram (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) must be labeled. This was announced by Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin, who received an appropriate explanation from the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) for his deputy request.

Mr. Gorelkin contacted the department after a meeting with bloggers. He received a response letter signed by the head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, Maxim Shaskolsky, which stated that control over compliance with standards regarding obtaining an online advertising identifier and transferring information about advertising to the ERIR is within the competence of Roskomnadzor. And he “orders to mark postings on all digital platforms, including blocked ones,” the deputy recalled.

“It became clear that a common position has been developed: advertising on the prohibited social network Instagram must be registered in the ERIR, provided with an identifier and reported for the entire period of placement – as is the case with any other online advertising,” explained Anton Gorelkin in Telegram.

Before this, the FAS said that Instagram in Russia is blocked and inaccessible, so there is no need to control or label anything there. In November, Roskomnadzor, in response to a letter from the Association of Bloggers and Agencies expressed reverse position, insisting on the need for labeling. According to Mediascope, the Instagram audience in Russia has decreased by almost a quarter over the year.

Details are in the Kommersant FM article. “Russians are unfollowing Instagram”.

Laura Keffer