Paying for Instagram followers could lead to extremism charges in Russia

The Russian Federation Council has stated that paying for premium features on Instagram and other Meta services could be considered funding for extremist activities.

This was announced by Vladimir Kozhin, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building.

According to the senator, since Meta is officially recognized as an “extremist organization” in Russia, any financial transactions in its favor may fall under the relevant provisions of Russian law.

“The company’s status has been determined. There is no need to use what has been recognized as extremist,” Kozhin stated.

The reason for this statement was Meta’s launch of paid subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Among the service’s new features are the ability to view others’ Stories without appearing in the viewer list, the option to extend Story publication for an additional day, and access to statistics on the most active followers.

Meta was designated an “extremist organization” in Russia in 2022, after which Facebook and Instagram were officially banned in the country. At the same time, millions of Russians continue to use these platforms via VPN services.

Russians want to return to the Soviet economy.

A Dead Empire: How Russia “Revived” the USSR.