Russian bloggers asked not to limit advertising on Instagram*

On June 5, Deputy Gorelkin spoke about the preparation of a bill prohibiting the integration of advertising into blocked social networks. According to the parliamentarian, the restriction will affect both natural and legal persons.

The Association of Bloggers and Agencies decided to approach Gorelkin to ask him not to ban advertising on Facebook* and Instagram*. The authors of the letter indicated that these sites are prohibited in the country, so Meta* does not receive funds for advertising activities.

“If a blogger places ads on these sites, they are not breaking the law and are using them only as a tool. All advertising funds go directly to the blogger, who can work through an agency or independently,” explain the authors of the appeal.

The letter also states that in the Russian Federation there is currently no alternative to Instagram* with an audience of more than 1 million users. The possible ban contradicts the principles of healthy competition, the association considers.

If the Russian Federation begins to tighten the rules for working with foreign social networks, the influencer marketing market will lose adequate market relations, the association believes. They added that Russian sites must operate and grow in healthy competitive conditions.

In 2023, Russian advertisers spent 900 million rubles on promotion on the social network Instagram*. The income of large bloggers on the site increased by more than a third.

In the first quarter of 2024, the income of the five largest Instagram bloggers* doubled.

* belong to Meta, recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation