The lawyer spoke about the legal limits of monitoring the activity of young people on social networks.

The government has approved a set of preventive measures among young people until 2030, which includes monitoring open activity on social networks to identify prohibited information. Ilya Rusyaev, a lawyer and founder of the Rusyaev Club business community, told Izvestia on May 5 about the pros and cons of these measures.

"The document covers the age group from 14 to 35 years, defined by the federal law on Youth Policy No. 489-FZ, but the main focus of the measures is aimed at students. This is primarily about preventing minors from engaging in dangerous activities and identifying destructive content in the open digital space," the expert explained.

Rusyaev noted that the legal framework for monitoring is formed by several laws at once. Thus, Law No. 489-FZ allows for the prevention of destructive ideologies among young people, Law No. 182-FZ provides for individual preventive measures within the authority of the authorities, and Law No. 149—FZ imposes on large Internet platforms the obligation to independently identify prohibited content. However, all of these mechanisms relate exclusively to publicly available information.

In Britain, social networks for children under 16 may be banned in 2026.

The lawyer stressed that the Constitution of the Russian Federation retains strict restrictions on interference in private life. Article 23 guarantees the secrecy of correspondence, access to which is possible only by court order. Article 24 prohibits the collection of information about private life without a citizen's consent, and article 29 enshrines freedom of speech and thought. Thus, only open publications can be analyzed, whereas private messages and private chats are protected by law and can only be accessed as part of operational investigative measures or criminal proceedings.

He also explained that the processing of personal data by government agencies is possible without the user's separate consent, if it is necessary to fulfill their powers under Law No. 152-FZ. However, this does not mean mass collection of information: only data necessary for a specific purpose and in a strictly limited volume is subject to processing.

According to Rusyaev, the zone of acceptable monitoring includes open posts, comments, reposts, public communities and account IDs. Personal correspondence and private profiles are not included in this outline.

Separately, the lawyer stressed that the identification of "destructive behavior" does not automatically mean that it is being held accountable. This requires a specific offense — for example, public calls for prohibited actions or the involvement of minors in dangerous activities. Warnings, interviews, and support from specialized services may be used as part of prevention, but any decisions can be appealed in court.

On the same day, RIA Novosti reported that Russia had approved measures to monitor social media to monitor the behavior of young people. The government has adopted a 41-point document aimed at combating "destructive behavior," which assigns a key role to tracking Internet activity. According to the document, citizens aged 14 to 35 years old belong to the youth.

At the end of April, expert Ekaterina Lebedeva assessed the danger of social networks for children. According to her, risks arise when social networks turn into a way of escaping reality: a teenager sacrifices his studies and basic needs, closes himself off, and shows aggression or anxiety in the absence of access to the Network.