MSU Associate Professor spoke about the risks of searching for extremist materials

There are certain risks for ordinary users with the introduction of administrative responsibility for searching and gaining access to extremist materials. On July 16, Elena Grin, an associate professor at Moscow State Law University (MGUA) and chairman of the Rospatent Transparency Commission at the Civic Chamber, told Izvestia.

"With the introduction of the new rule, the risk of bringing citizens to administrative responsibility increases, even for a single intentional search and access to prohibited materials, including the use of VPNs. This can lead to fines ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles," Grin said.

In this case, the risk from a legal point of view is related to the need to prove the intent of the user. He may be held accountable if it is established that he purposefully searched for or viewed extremist materials. At the same time, as the MSU associate professor clarified, in practice, the motive will be determined by law enforcement agencies.

"From the point of view of law enforcement, it is quite difficult to prove the intent of the search based on the browser history alone, especially if there is no direct access to the user's device. The browser history itself does not always confirm the conscious nature of actions," Grin emphasized.

According to her, fines for VPN advertising can lead to a reduction in the legal promotion of such tools on the Russian market. Because of this, services may move into the "gray" sphere, when VPN advertising and distribution will be carried out informally or anonymously.

"Such restrictions can make it difficult for users to find reliable information security tools, and for businesses, they can create additional barriers to the introduction and promotion of cybersecurity services, including legal solutions that do not involve circumvention of locks," Grin added.

The MSU Associate Professor also named guarantees for the protection of the rights of citizens and businesses. They provide for general procedural rules, including the presumption of innocence, the obligation to prove intent on the part of law enforcement agencies, the possibility of appealing decisions in court and monitoring the actions of officials. In order to strengthen the guarantees of citizens' rights, transparency of processes should be ensured.

"Attempts to destabilize society coming from abroad remain a serious problem"

Vadim Subbotin, Deputy Head of the RCN, on the work of the department to protect citizens from destructive information

Earlier in the day, the State Duma Committee on State Construction approved amendments to the draft law on liability in the form of a fine of up to 5,000 rubles for searching the Internet for extremist materials and gaining access to them. Fines of up to 80 thousand rubles for citizens, up to 150 thousand for officials, and up to 500 thousand for legal entities are provided for advertising VPN services and its analogues.