Lawyer warns of criminal punishment for rudeness on the Internet

Rudeness on the Internet can lead to criminal punishment told "Izvestia" on January 21 lawyer, head of the Center for Law Enforcement in Moscow and Moscow Region Alexander Khaminsky.

"The culture of behavior on the Internet has been formed in Russia gradually over the past 25 years. Initially, at the dawn of the Internet's development, users had behind them cultural habits formed in the 'pre-Internet' era. Their behavior was shaped by literature, theater, "paper" media, and personal communication. However, over the last quarter of a century, a generation has grown up for whom the Internet has become the main cultural field, a source of information and a behavioral example," he said.

The expert added that at the same time, some media and bloggers in pursuit of attracting attention to their materials began to use provocative headlines, often going beyond the usual culture and ethics.

"Such headlines and materials have become habitual for users, which has formed the current rather boorish model of people's behavior in comments to articles in the media, as well as in social networks," he specified.

The lawyer drew attention to the fact that the legal framework has gradually pulled up behind the established social relations. The laws have been amended in recent years to penalize those who are accustomed not only to provoke opponents on the Net, but also to insult them.

"Both administrative and criminal corpus delicti of offenses have been supplemented with qualifying features that allow punishment for relevant acts committed with the use of the Internet. Such administrative offenses as insult, petty hooliganism, if committed publicly with the use of information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, received stricter sanctions," explained Khaminsky.

He recalled that criminal offenses related to libel and violation of privacy committed on the Web also now have stricter liability.

"However, inculcation of culture by means of criminal or administrative legislation will not have the necessary effect if electronic media themselves do not begin to form appropriate approaches, refusing excessively provocative and rude presentation of news on the Internet," - suggested the lawyer.

Earlier in the day it was reported that two-thirds of the surveyed Russians (63%) have encountered insults and rudeness on the Internet. This is stated in the results of the research of the analytical center of the National Agency for financial research (NAFI). In 2023 such respondents were 61%. The most frequent targets of insults are men (67% vs. 60% of women), as well as young Russians under 24 (76%), who are more actively involved in discussions or arguments on the Web.