Russian lawmakers pass a bill punishing online searches for information deemed to be ‘extremist’
Moscow – Russian legislators approved on Tuesday a bill which punishes online research of information deemed “extremists”, the last decision of the government authorities in their relentless repression against dissent.
The bill adopted by the lower chamber, the Duma of the State, moves to its approval everything but aircraft in the upper chamber, then goes to President Vladimir Putin to be signed.
The legislation punishes what it describes as “deliberately looking for and accessing extremist materials” online. The offenders for the first time face a fine until the equivalent of $ 64.
The official definition of extremist activity is extremely wide and includes opposition groups such as the anti-corruption foundation, created by the late leader of the opposition Alexei Navalny and the “LGBT International” movement.
We do not know how the authorities will track offenders. Officials and legislators have said that ordinary Internet users will not be assigned and that only those who methodically seek the prohibited content will be targeted. They did not explain how the authorities would differentiate themselves.
Some observers have suggested that the information would likely come from Internet suppliers or social media platforms, and the police could also randomly check the research history of mobile phones or computers.
The new legislation also contained the prohibition of advertising of virtual private network services and fines for VPN resources which do not comply with government regulations, but are unable to prohibit their use. He listed the use of a VPN as an “aggravating circumstance” in the event of other violations of the law.
The Russians largely use VPN services to access the prohibited content, but the authorities have sought to tighten the restrictions, trying to fill the gaps. The state communications watchdog has increasingly used technology to analyze traffic and block specific VPN protocols.
The Russian authorities increased their multi-polished repression against dissent after sending troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
Since then, online censorship and prosecution for publications and comments on social networks have soared. Several independent media and rights groups have been closed, labeled as “foreign agents” or prohibited as “undesirable”. Hundreds of activists and Kremlin criticisms faced criminal charges.
The new legislation has aroused large public criticisms. The Duma, which unanimously supports most government initiatives, was clearly divided to Tuesday vote, with 306 supporting the measure, 67 voted against it and 22 abstaining. Among those who opposed the bill, there were members of the Communist Party, just Russia and the Liberal Party of the New People who generally follow the wishes of the Kremlin.
Liberal politician Boris Nadezhdin, who sought to challenge Putin in the presidential election last year, but was denied a place on the ballot, told journalists outside the state of the state he had opposed to the new legislation. “This creates real problems for tens of millions of people,” he said.
The help of Nadezhdin, Dmitry Kisiev, who picked up the Parliament with a poster complicating legislation in the world of the dystopian “1984” of George Orwell, was quickly gathered by the police, who also owned several journalists covering the demonstration.
Even some pro-Kremlin figures criticized the bill, arguing that this would prevent them from finding and diverting comments from the Kremlin criticisms.
Margarita Simonyan, head of the RT channel funded by the State, spoke out against legislation, wondering how his media group could “investigate and shame” anti-Kremlin points of sale “if we are prohibited to read them”.
And Yekaterina Mizulina, whose Safe Group Internet League has frequently reported dissidents to the authorities, has also strongly condemned the new bill, arguing that this would prevent its group from monitoring “extremist communities” on the web.
