The Russian Duma amends federal law to ban advertising on Instagram, Facebook and X in Russia
On March 25, 2025, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted amendments to the Federal Laws 'On Countering Extremist Activity' and 'On Advertising,' which will ban advertising on many sites and platforms that are banned in Russia as 'undesirable.'
Запрещается размещение рекламы на признанных нежелательными или запрещенных информационных ресурсах
Ban on advertising on Instagram
Advertising Banned on All Sites Blocked in Russia Starting September * TorrentFreak
In Russia, services such as Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) are designated as ' extremist ' and are banned in the country, but some companies, entrepreneurs, influencers, and bloggers use VPNs to access these services. As a result, Russian influencers are able to earn advertising revenue despite the ban. For example, a survey by Russian research company ADinBlog revealed that Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak earned 38 million rubles (approximately 66 million yen) in 2024.
In addition, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technologies and Mass Media of Russia reported that the budget for online advertising in Russia on social networks that are supposed to be blocked in Russia, such as Instagram and Facebook , reached 13.6 billion rubles (about 23.8 billion yen) in the 2022-2024 period.
To address this situation, an amended Federal Law adopted by the State Duma on March 25, 2025, bans 'the posting of advertisements on the information resources of foreign or international organizations that are considered undesirable on the territory of Russia.'
'The owners of social networks that are supposed to be blocked in Russia pursue an anti-Russian policy and spread false information. Citizens and businesses use social networks to advertise their goods and services, and sometimes, without thinking, spend money on people who deliberately harm Russia,' said Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma.
Under the current Article 14, paragraph 3 of the Russian Federal Administrative Law, if a person violates the law on advertising, he or she will be fined 2,000 to 2,500 rubles (approximately 3,500 yen), 4,000 to 20,000 rubles (approximately 35,000 yen) for citizens, 1 million to 5 million rubles (approximately 1.75 million yen) for public officials, and 1 million to 5 million rubles (approximately 8.74 million yen) for corporations. However, experts say that this penalty is insufficient. Therefore, when the revised federal law comes into effect on September 1, 2025, the fines for violations of the basic requirements for advertising will be revised upward.
'Companies, influencers and others should shut down existing advertising campaigns before it's too late,' Russian lawyer Ekaterina Abasiya warned.
'This decision will allow us to protect the interests of our country and its people and block one of the sources of income for the owners of banned social networks,' Volodin said.
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