On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin enacted a law that makes searching for “extremist” content online a criminal offense, with fines reaching up to 5,000 rubles (approximately $64) for each transgression.
Moscow Times This decision is causing quite a stir. Even those in Russia who usually support censorship are feeling uneasy about how this could affect their efforts to monitor extreme content.
Yekaterina Mizulina, who leads the Kremlin’s Safe Internet League and is a well-known supporter of online censorship, voiced concerns about this legislation earlier this month. She noted that it might disrupt the league’s function, particularly since around 30% of their work involves identifying and reporting militant content to authorities.
Mizulina also suggested that this law could put law enforcement officials in a precarious legal position while performing their duties.
Margarita Simoneyan, head of the state-controlled RT, expressed her frustration, indicating this law could hinder her efforts to address critics of the Kremlin and the Ukrainian war. She fears that critics might be effectively banned from accessing relevant information.
Interestingly, the parliamentary vote on this bill saw more dissent than usual, with opposition coming even from groups that typically align with Putin, including the Communist Party. Some liberal Russian politicians protested, drawing parallels between the bill and George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. One protester was detained shortly after.
Now, those advocating for internet freedom are raising alarms, pointing out the challenge in defining what “extremism” really is. There’s a real concern that Putin may broaden this term to encompass any criticism of his regime.
Human Rights Watch has highlighted that President Putin has previously categorized anti-corruption activists, LGBT groups, independent media, and political dissenters as “extremists.” It’s likely that the courts will view most criticisms regarding the conflict in Ukraine as “extremist” as well.
The new law places pressure not just on those producing such content, but also on individuals who might be searching for it. This adds another layer of difficulty for opposition voices in a country where dissent is already stifled.
Maxat Shadaev, Putin’s digital minister, responded to inquiries about how the government would define “extremist” content. He implied that it would fall to prosecutors to establish a user’s “intent.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists remarked that this law represents a severe escalation in the battle against censorship, coming after a 2022 bill that imposed 15-year prison sentences for spreading “fake news” about military operations.
Anna Braca, a senior researcher with CPJ, criticized the rushed nature of this poorly defined bill, suggesting it ignores the need for public debate and only contributes to a more suffocating atmosphere for both media and citizens.
A Russian digital rights group has informed CPJ that millions of users may now shy away from social media platforms, steering clear of sites that could expose them to content labeled as “extremist.”
These recent laws impose significant burdens on internet and social media companies to monitor user activities and alert authorities to searches for “extremist” material. Law enforcement is now expected to scrutinize users’ browsing histories for any illegal website access.
On the same day he enacted the search law, he also signed another bill prohibiting advertisements for virtual private networks (VPNs).
VPNs are often relied upon by individuals in repressive regimes to bypass state censorship. While they haven’t been outright banned in Russia yet, there’s a growing sentiment that the government is trying to undermine their use.
Bloomberg News reported that VPN providers that do not fully cooperate with authorities or facilitate access to “extremist” content could face penalties exceeding 500,000 rubles (around $6,200).
