Moscow court bans two websites offering Instagram verification services, citing Meta’s ‘extremist’ designation

A Moscow court has declared the websites of two companies offering Instagram profile verification services “extremist” and banned them in Russia. The court rulings were discovered in the case archive by Verstka.

Prosecutors requested the ban on the websites of RosMedia and Aura, arguing that their services bore “signs of financing extremist activity.”

They noted that Instagram is owned by Meta, which was designated an extremist organization in Russia in 2022, and that verifying an account on Instagram — obtaining a blue checkmark — requires a subscription to Meta Verified.

“Providing services for verifying online accounts on Instagram […] by transferring funds to pay for a Meta Verified subscription is criminal in nature and may contribute to the financing of an extremist organization,” the prosecutor’s filing stated.

As Mediazona reported, neither company offered Meta subscriptions directly but instead provided “full support” services to help clients obtain Instagram verification. RosMedia reportedly charged around 300,000 rubles (about $3,750) for the service.

In March 2022, a Moscow court declared Meta an “extremist organization” at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The court also ordered Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta, to be blocked in Russia.