Joohn Choe, a Facebook contractor, filed two whistleblower complaints alleging that Meta is allowing accounts of sanctioned individuals to remain on its platforms. According to a March 10 article in The Washington Post, Choe filed one complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Department and a separate complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The complaint to the DOJ and Treasury Department alleges that there are a “multitude of sanctioned entities and individuals who…maintain a robust Facebook and Instagram presence” and that “Facebook parent company Meta engaged in ‘reckless or willful’ violations of U.S. sanctions law by permitting the accounts.” One such sanctioned individual is “Aleksandr Zaldostanov, the leader of a pro-Putin biker gang” — according to the article, Zaldostanov has been making posts on Facebook that “disparage the Ukrainian president and push falsehoods about the war.”
“A former physician known by his nickname, ‘the Surgeon,’ Zaldostanov has been on the U.S. government sanctions list since 2014, amid allegations that he helped Russian troops confiscate weapons during the country’s invasion of Crimea,” the article reports.
In his complaints, Choe alleges that the accounts “allowed the users to cultivate global legitimacy and spread Russian propaganda.” Additionally, Choe’s complaints “identify other posts appearing to recruit fighters and solicit funds to back pro-Russian separatists, which some legal...
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