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3w ago

Russia Advances Law Criminalizing Searches for 'Extremist' Content

Critics warn the bill’s broad registry will stifle online dissent in the absence of clear enforcement as it moves to the Federation Council

Police detain an activist during a picket against internet limitations in front of The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, prior to consider the third and final reading of a bill, criminalising the search of "extremist materials" in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
An activist holds a poster reading "For Russia without censorship. Orwell wrote a dystopia, not an instruction manual" during a picket against internet limitations in front of The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, prior to consider the third and final reading of a bill, criminalising the search of "extremist materials" in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Police detain an activist during a picket against internet limitations in front of The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, prior to consider the third and final reading of a bill, criminalising the search of "extremist materials" in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
Russian Politician Boris Nadezhdin, right, gestures while speaking to Vladislav Davankov, deputy Chairman of the State Duma in front of The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament prior a session to consider the third and final reading a bill, criminalising the search of "extremist materials" in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Overview

  • The State Duma approved the measure by a 306–67 vote and sent it onward to the Federation Council before President Putin’s anticipated signature
  • Under the legislation, anyone found to have knowingly searched content on the Ministry of Justice’s 5,473-entry extremist registry faces fines of up to 5,000 rubles
  • The bill prohibits advertising for virtual private network services and designates VPN use as an aggravating circumstance in related prosecutions
  • Enforcement mechanisms remain undefined, with proposals to draw on data from internet providers, social platforms or random device inspections
  • Opposition figures, some pro-Kremlin voices and protesters—including journalists—have denounced the measure and staged demonstrations that led to arrests