Meta employees with Russian citizenship are afraid to return home. Earlier the Russian court deemed Meta as extremist

Two thousand Meta employees are citizens of Russia. After the company was pronounced extremist, they are afraid to return home because they may face criminal charges in Russia; about a dozen employees have already decided to quit the company to avoid problems for themselves and their families, Russian journalist Farida Rustamova reported, citing sources inside the company.

However, according to Rustamova's source, Meta itself refutes the company's recognition as an extremist organization. Lawyer Victoria Shakina, who represented Meta in court, wrote on her Telegram channel «the company was not directly recognized as an extremist organization». The court decision has not, indeed, been published, which means that lawyers cannot fully understand the possible consequences for the employees.

According to the journalist, the Net Freedoms project, which provides legal assistance in freedom of expression related cases, «has been hit with a flood of appeals from Meta employees. This happened after the Tverskoy court in Moscow ruled that the company Meta was an extremist organization. The court also banned the social media Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta, for extremist activity. At the same time, WhatsApp messenger was left outside the scope of the court's decision.