In recent years, several Russian citizens have faced criminal charges for “extremism” due to posting or sharing things on social media. In some of these cases, the offending post was a joke or meme. In August 2018, Russia’s Mail.ru Group, an internet company which, in addition to hosting a web-based email service, also owns Russia’s largest social network VK.com, called for Russian authorities to change laws on extremism and grant amnesty to some of those who were convicted under the current strict laws.
Polygraph: Russian prosecutor denies ‘likes’ on social media are crimes, yes but it’s happened
A picture taken in Russia's second city of St. Petersburg on Nov. 1, 2013, shows a view of a building where the social network VKontakte (In Touch) rents an office space.
