Clarifications on the Court's Ban on Meta's Activities

On March 21, 2022, the Tversky District Court of Moscow granted the claim of the First Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation against the holding company Meta Platforms Inc.* for a ban on the sale of social networking products Facebook* and Instagram* on the territory of the Russian Federation on the grounds of extremist activity. As a result of the court decision, the company cannot conduct commercial activities and open representative offices in Russia.

The court decision is subject to immediate execution, but the defendant is not deprived of the right to appeal the judicial act within one month from the moment it was issued in final form.

Let's consider the consequences of the above decision for Russian users (individuals and legal entities):

1. Use of social networks.

The text of the decision states that these judicial protection measures do not limit the use of Meta* software products by individuals and legal entities who do not participate in activities prohibited by law. Senator Andrei Klishas and deputy Alexander Khinshtein also previously spoke about the absence of legal risks for users.

The opinions of the legal community on this matter are divided: some believe that risks will arise for all users, others that only those who posted posts with controversial content. Therefore, in the absence of law enforcement practice, we recommend that you at least be more attentive to the information posted (if you decide on further use).

2. Purchasing targeted advertising, paying for other services.

On the part of the regulator, these actions can be qualified as financing of extremist activities (Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which provides for criminal prosecution with punishment up to imprisonment for up to 10 years.

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Please note that at the time of preparation of this material, law enforcement practice on the above issues is in the process of formation and subsequent changes in conclusions and recommendations are possible. 

We hope that the information presented will be useful for you and your business!

For additional information and clarification, you can contact our experts:

Stepanov Igor Viktorovich, managing partner, lawyer

Tel.: 8-928-229-95-96, e-mail:istepanov@gratanet.com  

Makarova Inna Alekseevna, partner, lawyer

Tel.: 8-928-160-76-42, e-mail:imakarova@gratanet.com