Russia’s financial monitoring agency adds Meta to ‘extremists’ list
October 11, 2022, 4:00 pm

Russia’s financial monitoring agency adds Meta to ‘extremists’ list

A court in Moscow has ruled to label Meta Platforms an “extremist organization," a move that effectively outlaws its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms (File photo: Pixabay)

Russia has added the Tech company Meta to the list of terrorist and extremist organizations. The Federal Financial Monitoring Service Rosfinmonitoring announced that Meta is added to the list on Tuesday (Oct 11), the Sputnik reported.

Russia designated Meta as extremist on March 21 after the social media giant selectively lifted its rules to allow Ukrainians to call for violence and use hate speech against Russian "invaders," including calls for death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

In April, Russia imposed sanctions on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In March 2022, amid its invasion of Ukraine, Russia began to increasingly block international news outlets such as BBC News Russian, Deutsche Welle, and RFE/RL (including Current Time), and Twitter was "restricted".

Facebook is used by less than one in 10 people, according to data from eMarketer.

Russian court labels Meta platforms as 'extremist organization', outlawing Facebook, Instagram

In March, Russian authorities blocked access to Facebook, claiming the world’s largest social media company had broken the country’s rules by limiting online access to state-backed media.

“Since October 2020, 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media and information resources by Facebook have been recorded,” the Russian regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement. “A decision was made to block access to the Facebook network in the Russian Federation.”

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”