The Kuntsevsky District Court of Moscow has banned the dissemination of information about how to obtain paid verification on Instagram* (a social network banned in Russia). This refers to the "blue check" — a verified account badge. The lawsuit was filed by prosecutor Maxim Shcherbakov.
According to the case materials, obtaining the badge required paying for a Meta** subscription (recognized as an extremist organization and its activities are prohibited in Russia), that is, transferring money to a banned organization. The court considered that such payments "may contribute to the financing of an extremist organization."
Instagram* automatically verifies public figures, but previously there was an option for paid verification for other users.
According to Alexey Pak, founder of the Purple Door agency, paid verification was in demand not among ordinary users, but among bloggers and freelancers working with a foreign audience.
The expert explained that the badge increased profile trust and reduced the risk of being marked as spam. Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as bloggers, have long used banned social networks due to the larger audience and more understandable algorithms, in contrast to domestic platforms, where the audience and variety of content are significantly smaller.
*Social network is banned in Russia.
** Meta Corporation is recognized as an extremist organization and its activities are prohibited in Russia.
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President Putin Approves Law Banning Advertising on Instagram*
