In Russia, a fine is being imposed for searching for extremism on the Internet. What you need to know

The State Duma will consider a bill to impose fines for searching and gaining access to extremist materials using a VPN. If approved, the law will enter into force on September 1. The fine will be from three to five thousand rubles. What kind of content is extremist and exactly how the law will work is in the Izvestia article.

What is the bill about

• The bill on fines for searching for extremist materials No. 755710-8 was submitted to the State Duma on October 30, 2024 by a group of seven deputies from the United Russia and Fair Russia — For Truth factions. Initially, it concerned only the regulation of work in the freight forwarding sector and clarified administrative offenses in it. In this form, the bill was adopted in the first reading on January 28.

• However, in July, the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation approved the introduction of a number of amendments proposed by the government for the second reading, which now relate not only to the transport industry. In particular, a new Article 13.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) is being introduced, entitled "Searching for knowingly extremist materials and gaining access to them, including using hardware and software to access information resources, information and telecommunication networks, access to which is restricted."

• The article prohibits intentionally searching the Internet and gaining access to knowingly extremist materials that are included in the federal list of the Ministry of Justice or specified in the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activities." There is a separate prohibition on the use of software and hardware for access to information resources and information and telecommunication networks - this means VPN services.

• The penalty under the new article of the Administrative Code for citizens is a fine in the amount of three thousand to five thousand rubles. If the law is adopted, it will enter into force on September 1, 2025.

Which materials are extremist

• The decision that a particular material is extremist is made by the federal court in the place where the material was discovered or distributed, or where the organization that produced this kind of information is located. The Ministry of Justice forms a federal list of extremist materials based on copies of decisions sent by the courts. It includes 5,473 items, the last of which was added on July 9 based on a court decision issued on May 15.

• The list may include books, films, music, slogans, websites, pictures, and even memes. Many works by the leaders of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, as well as some examples of religious literature, belong to extremist, while the texts of the Bible, the Koran, the Tanakh and the Ganjura cannot be considered extremist. The authors whose works have been included in the Ministry of Justice list include composer Richard Wagner, entrepreneur Henry Ford, writer Eduard Limonov, and philologist Vladimir Dahl. The list also includes the so-called "Dulles Plan", which is widespread in the conspiracy environment.

• The draft law introducing a new article of the Administrative Code specifically states that not only those extremist materials that have been officially recognized by the court, but also those on which a decision has not yet been taken, fall under the ban on search and admission if they call for extremist activities or justify or justify the need to carry out such activities. The exact definition of extremist materials is contained in the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activities."

What is the reaction to the bill

• After the publication of the bill, its interpretation by the legislators followed. Facebook Instagram and Facebook accounts owned by the recognized extremist and banned Meta corporation will not be fined, Oleg Matveychev, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, said. However, the punishment will follow for the search and publication of extremist content in them.

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The tightening will also apply to foreigners and stateless persons.

• Matveychev also noted that the question of how exactly they will be held accountable for actions on the Internet will be resolved after the adoption of the law. The State Duma deputy suggested that in the future the special services will make an exception and will be allowed to search for official necessity.

• Senator Artyom Sheikin pointed out that responsibility will come precisely for the deliberate search and access to materials recognized as extremist. According to him, there will be no direct responsibility of individuals for visiting blocked resources.

Ekaterina Mizulina, director of the Safe Internet League, admitted that a fine could be imposed even for reading comments where other users post extremist symbols. She also noted that under the new law, her organization would not be able to monitor the Internet space and transmit data on the dissemination of extremist information to the Interior Ministry, just as law enforcement officers themselves would no longer be able to do this. Mizulina recalled the existence of article 29 of the Constitution, according to which everyone has the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information in any legal way.