The case for the body: how Russians are attracted to maintaining intimate Telegram channels

A girl who created a paid Telegram channel with her intimate photos and videos will be tried in Yekaterinburg. In a few months, the Russian woman earned only 10 thousand rubles — now she faces up to six years in prison. Similar cases were recorded in different regions: girls were almost immediately detained and criminal cases were opened. Izvestia found out how such content is dealt with in Russia and what penalties are provided for it.

The case for the channel

In Yekaterinburg, a 25-year-old girl will be tried because of a Telegram channel with intimate photos and videos. A disgruntled spectator wrote a statement against her, the press group of the city department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Izvestia.

A woman came across an advertisement for an erotic channel on an online forum. She went in there, saw nude photos and videos of an unknown model, and was so outraged that she contacted the police.

Photo: TASS/AP/Randall Benton

As a result, the Interior Ministry staff began checking: they sent the videos for examination, where it was confirmed that pornography was depicted there. The police quickly identified the owner of the channel — she turned out to be a 25-year-old unemployed Yekaterinburg woman. The girl said that she started a blog "for the sake of creativity" and earned almost no money with its help — in a few months it brought only 10 thousand rubles.

"The girl explained that she had created two Telegram channels in which she posted her own photos and videos. She starred in all the videos herself. The blogger asked for a fee for access to the second channel, depending on the subscription period. In addition, subscribers could make a personal order for a specific video for an additional fee. In just a few months of the channel's existence, she managed to attract about 300 subscribers," the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Yekaterinburg reported.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Sukhorukov

Now the girl faces from two to six years in a penal colony. The investigation of the criminal case is ongoing.

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Prohibited content

Stories where girls tried to make money from intimate content on Telegram, and ended up in the dock, have already occurred in several regions. In March, a 28-year-old woman was detained in Moscow for creating closed messenger channels and posting photos and videos, and selling access to them for money.

The Muscovite was accused of illegal pornography trafficking. She was detained in her apartment on Kakhovka Street, and evidence — props for filming - was seized from the apartment.

Photo: Getty Images/M-Production

A similar case was recorded in Voronezh last year: a 24-year-old girl created her own channel there and posted "adult" materials for six months, including online broadcasts of her intimate life. Access was provided by subscription: 3 thousand rubles for access for one month and 1.5 thousand for monthly renewal. After the arrest, the girl admitted her guilt and deleted the channel.

In Irkutsk in 2023, a girl who came up with the same "side job" was convicted. Her channel lasted for a couple of months, after which the model was detained.

"The court sentenced her to suspended imprisonment for a period of two years, with a probation period of two years," the Oktyabrsky District Court of Irkutsk said.

Photo: TASS/Sergey Shleyuk

And in Novokuznetsk, a 36-year-old Telegram channel administrator was detained for posting someone else's intimate video to attract subscribers. The police noticed the prohibited content during media and social media monitoring, and the detainee had 13,000 subscribers on his channel. Now the blogger also faces up to six years in prison. Izvestia asked Roskomnadzor to provide statistics on blocked channels with similar content.

The side of the law

Alexey Gavrishev, lawyer and managing partner of AVG Legal, explains to Izvestia that Russian legislation severely restricts the circulation of pornographic materials, especially on the Internet. At the same time, it is important to understand that pornography is not just images of the naked body, but rather naturalistic scenes, often with an emphasis on physiological details. If the content is created solely for the sake of showing such scenes, it will most likely be classified as pornographic.

— Unlike eroticism, where elements of sexuality may be present, but without vulgar naturalism, pornography is aimed at demonstrating the genitals. A qualifying assessment is given, as a rule, on the basis of cultural expertise," says the lawyer.

Photo: Getty Images/Oleg Elkov

In such a case, Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Distribution of pornographic materials using the Internet") is initiated, for which up to six years in prison are provided. If we are talking about content involving minors, this is already Article 242.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and the punishment there is much stricter: up to 10 years in prison, adds lawyer Yuri Kapshtyk.

In addition to criminal liability, administrative measures are also possible, such as a fine of up to 5 million rubles and suspension of a legal entity's activities. Therefore, any actions related to the creation, posting or distribution of explicit content require extreme caution.

Photo: Global Look Press/Bulkin Sergey

"If a girl posed completely naked, showing organs in close—up, especially in the context of explicit sexual acts, this may be considered pornography,— explains Alexey Gavrishev. — If the content was stylized, artistically decorated, without intercourse, without displaying genitals, it would most likely fall under the category of eroticism, the distribution of which is not prohibited on the Internet, unless other laws are violated, for example, on the protection of children.

At the same time, adds Vyacheslav Plahotniuc, Doctor of Law at the Higher School of Economics, Adviser to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, lawyer, the main condition for bringing to criminal responsibility under Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation should be the goal of dissemination. That is, as long as private photos and videos are simply stored by the author, they will not form the objective side of the crime. Unlike child pornography, which is also prohibited from being stored.

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Merged data

At the same time, lawyer Timur Matveev tells Izvestia, there are often cases when leaked photos and videos end up online. In this case, the characters of the content will no longer be violators of the law, but victims — after all, we are talking about a violation of human rights to privacy and confidentiality.

— In such cases, it is important to collect evidence.: screenshots of pages, links to materials, dates and times of publication. And then apply to law enforcement agencies with a statement about the dissemination of personal data without consent. It is possible to prove the fact of publication through the provision of technical evidence (screenshots, file metadata), as well as witness testimony," says the lawyer.

Photo: TASS/Zuma

If a person notices such data online, it is important to first save copies of the pages, and then contact the administration of the site / social network with a request to delete the content, in case of refusal, file a lawsuit to obtain a court order to block the content. Within the framework of the legislation of the Russian Federation, there is a mechanism for "recognizing information prohibited for dissemination" — for example, by court decision. At the same time, it is worth contacting the police not only when the content has already been published, but also if the person is simply being blackmailed by this, then the offender can be involved in an article about threats or extortion.

— Distributing personal photos without consent is a violation of the right to privacy. Criminal liability is provided for this, up to imprisonment for up to two years," the Izvestia interlocutor notes.

In addition, the victim can go to court to stop the content from being posted and recover compensation for moral damage from the offender.

To protect against such situations, Vyacheslav Plahotniuc advises against storing intimate photos and videos on electronic media with Internet access. And even more so, do not send them to anyone using any means of communication.