Russia issues arrest warrant for Meta spokesman on unspecified charges

TASS news agency reported on November 26 that Russia has put Meta Platforms spokesman Andy Stone on the wanted list for unspecified crimes.

người phát ngôn của Meta Platforms - Andy Stone. (Nguồn: Nypost)

Meta Platforms spokesman Andy Stone has been placed on Russia's wanted list on unspecified charges. (Source: Nypost)

TASS said the Russian Interior Ministry had opened a criminal investigation into Mr. Stone but did not disclose details of the investigation or charges.

Meta's press office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for information. about the case

Meta's main social platforms Facebook and Instagram were both banned in Russia shortly after Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine, in February last year.

In March 2022, Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal investigation into "illegal actions of Meta employees" and singled out Mr Stone, saying he had "lifted the ban on calls for violence against the Russian military on platforms" and was therefore inciting extremism.

In addition, Russia has also opened a criminal investigation into Meta Platforms and labeled the US tech giant an “extremist organization.”

Russia's Investigative Committee believes that Meta Platforms' move may have violated provisions of the Russian Criminal Code.

The United Nations also expressed concern about Meta Platforms' actions, saying that this could lead to a wave of hate speech aimed at the Russian people.

The UN human rights office said it would raise these concerns with Meta Platforms and ask the company to consider the harms arising from the above policy change.

At that time, Meta Platforms spokesman Andy Stone said that Facebook and Instagram would block messages calling for violence against Russian civilians.

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