Banned Facebook was added to the list of terrorists: what awaits Russian users

Lawyers assessed the risks

Rosfinmonitoring has entered the American corporation Meta Platforms (its activities are recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) in the register of terrorists and extremists. Starting today, Mark Zuckerberg’s company, which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram (banned in Russia), is on the same blacklist as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda (recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia).

What now threatens ordinary users and bloggers who, bypassing blocking, continue to use banned social networks and advertise their goods and services there?

Meta Inc was recognized as extremist in March 2022 at the suit of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The department proved in court that Zuckerberg’s company pursued an information policy directed against Russia and our Armed Forces. At the same time, the social networks Facebook and Instagram were banned in our country. The WhatsApp messenger, which is also part of the Meta Platforms holding, was not blocked, since the application is used only for exchanging user messages and does not distribute public information.

Immediately after the decision to ban the Meta sites from Roskomnadzor and the Prosecutor General’s Office, clarifications followed: there would be no liability for ordinary users. The only inconvenience is that special programs would have to be installed on smartphones and computers to help bypass the blocking.

Will something change after Meta is included in the register of terrorists and extremists?

Lawyer Oksana Mikhalkina explained to MK that for ordinary users who continue to maintain personal pages on Zuckerberg’s social networks, the risks are minimal. But for a business that uses banned social networks to promote its products, the situation seems much more alarming.

According to the rules for the formation of a list of terrorists and extremists, Rosfinmonitoring has the right to include in the register those citizens and organizations in respect of whom there is information about involvement in extremist or terrorist activities. The relevant data can be broadcast to the department by the TFR, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice. After being blacklisted, the organization’s accounts are blocked.

As for the measures of responsibility, it can be both criminal and administrative. In both cases, we are talking about the financing of terrorism. According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the financing of terrorism in Russia is punishable by imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years with a fine of three hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand rubles or life imprisonment.

There is an important nuance here: financing of terrorism means the provision or collection of funds or the provision of financial services with the knowledge that they are intended to finance the organization, preparation or commission of at least one of the crimes provided for by the “terrorist” articles of the Criminal Code. In turn, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for fines for activities related to the financing of terrorism, only for legal entities. Thus, for non-compliance with the requirements of the legislation on combating the legalization of criminal proceeds and the financing of terrorism, the sanction ranges from 50 thousand to 1 million rubles.

Lawyer Vladimir Vasin stressed that at the moment there is no such law enforcement practice. However, the lawyer suggested that there are risks for businessmen and bloggers who use banned social networks for promotion.

– There are risks for bloggers and businessmen. I would now advise them to remove the Facebook and Instagram logos from their websites and products, – the lawyer recommended.