The Russian Federation Council is set to review a bill introducing fines for searching extremist materials online during its session on July 25. This development was confirmed by Artyom Sheikin, First Deputy Chairman of the Council`s Constitutional Committee.
Sheikin stated that the “bill, which establishes responsibility for violations in the field of communications and information, is scheduled for consideration by the Federation Council at a plenary meeting on July 25.”
This legislation was previously adopted by the State Duma. It introduces penalties for deliberately seeking and accessing known extremist content on the internet, even when using VPN services. Fines for such actions will range from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles. Furthermore, advertising tools that bypass restrictions to information resources will incur a significant penalty of up to 500,000 rubles. The primary objective of this new law is to strengthen measures against crime, extremism, and terrorism.
Sheikin had clarified in earlier statements that the core focus of the new law is on regulating internet service providers, platforms, and technical intermediaries. He emphasized that individual Russian citizens would not be penalized simply for accessing banned resources via VPN, provided that the extremist content is not subsequently distributed, saved, or popularized. He also reiterated that merely accessing platforms such as Instagram* or other blocked resources would not result in fines for individuals.
Extremist materials are cataloged and maintained in a registry by the Russian Ministry of Justice, with new entries added following court decisions. Currently, this registry contains approximately 5,500 items. Roskomnadzor, the federal executive body responsible for media supervision, is tasked with monitoring the proliferation and accessibility of these listed extremist materials. According to Maksut Shadayev, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, Roskomnadzor has already blocked access to 56,000 web pages that failed to comply with demands to remove extremist content.
* The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist.
