Facebook Parent Meta’s Spokesperson Sentenced To 6 Years In Jail By Russian Military Court

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With more than two years having passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a special military court in Moscow sentenced Facebook parent Meta's spokesperson Andy Stone to six years in jail earlier today according to a report in the local media. Facebook and Instagram were blocked in Russia after the invasion started, and Moscow has accused the platform of spreading terrorism in Russia after Stone had outlined in 2022 that Meta would temporarily allow posts calling for violence against the European nation. Meta CEO, the billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, is already barred from entering Russia, and the sentence was awarded to the spokesperson in absentia.

Meta Spokesperson Receives Jail Sentence For Terrorism In Russia

The sentencing was part of a criminal investigation that started last year and was headed by the Russian Interior Ministry. Stone's conviction is for spreading terrorism in Russia, due to his defending Meta's decision to allow comments and posts on Facebook that wished harm upon the Russian military and Russian and Belarusian leaders. Facebook and Instagram were banned in Russia in March 2022, a month after Russian forces crossed into Ukraine. At the time, Russian authorities had defended the decision by calling Meta an extremist organization.

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While Meta had also stated that the allowance was only in the context of the Ukraine invasion, Russian authorities were quick to act as they blocked the firm's social networks in the country within days of Stone's statements. Sensing danger, Meta announced that it had decided to remove the policy that had allowed the death wishes, but by that time, it was too late, and the services were taken down in the Russian Federation.

Meta's legal troubles in Russia started a year