THIS MESSAGE (MATERIAL) IS CREATED AND (OR) DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN MASS MEDIA PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT AND (OR) A RUSSIAN LEGAL ENTITY PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A FOREIGN AGENT.
Social media users do not yet bear the risk of being held liable for using Meta’s services, but law enforcement practices may change. Sarkis Darbinyan, a Roskomsvoboda lawyer, told this to a Rosbalt correspondent, commenting on the authorities’ demand to recognize the corporation as an extremist organization.
According to him, the employees of the company should worry now.
“Now the Prosecutor General’s Office, in order to recognize the organization as extremist, must go to court, and it must make a decision, after which the company will be included in the appropriate register, and resources will be blocked on an ongoing basis. The users themselves should not be afraid, because no procedural complicity can be traced here. Accordingly, it will not be possible to hold them accountable for using the platform itself. Unless, of course, the platform was used for personal purposes, ”said the lawyer.
He urged, however, users to refrain from supporting Meta’s statements, which could technically be directed against Russian troops participating in a special operation in Ukraine.
“In this case, a criminal case may be initiated under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, related to inciting hatred or enmity. And also on a number of new articles, if the armed forces are discredited or public actions are committed aimed at spreading false information,” Darbinyan warned.
He added that the owners of the business, which is deployed on the Facebook and Instagram platforms, should not worry either.
“If the user independently sends funds to the company, then this may qualify as financing of an extremist organization. But if the company itself collects money for the provision of services, then it is extremely difficult to bring this article under this article, ”the lawyer explained.
In conclusion, he noted that Russia now lives in the era of sanctions law, and this should be borne in mind.
“The legislation we are accustomed to, which was applied earlier, will undergo changes. And law enforcement will change. But from the current situation, it is still premature to talk about the risks for end users who simply use social networks,” Darbinyan concluded.
Recall that the Prosecutor General’s Office demanded that Meta be recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia.
Source: Rosbalt
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
