An increasing number of pro-Kremlin voices are expressing their opposition to a proposed legislation that would impose fines for accessing or searching for online content classified as “extremist” by Russian authorities.
The bill, which the State Duma’s lower house is scheduled to vote on Thursday, would establish fines of up to 5,000 rubles (approximately $64) for individuals who “knowingly” seek out forbidden content. The legislation lacks clarity on how such actions would be monitored, raising concerns from experts about potential increased surveillance and misuse by law enforcement agencies.
Critics caution that the legislation could target individuals attempting to expose what the authorities categorize as extremism, which could include police officers and government-affiliated activists.
Yekaterina Mizulina, leader of the Kremlin-linked Safe Internet League, stated that this legislation could inadvertently harm its supporters and aid the government’s efforts to suppress dissent.
“We actively track this kind of [“extremist”] content and report our findings to law enforcement as part of our formal responsibilities,” Mizulina noted on Telegram.
“What is particularly alarming is that under the proposed law, even officials from the Interior Ministry who monitor such content could technically find themselves acting unlawfully. Furthermore, any private individual reporting potential threats, like [possible school shooters] to the police, might also face fines,” she continued.
Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the state-funded RT news agency, also voiced her disapproval of the bill.
“Dear government, please tell me how we can conduct investigations and scrutinize all sorts of extremist groups such as FBK if we are prohibited from even reading about them?” Simonyan wrote on Telegram, referring to Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was banned in Russia in 2021.
“I hope there will be amendments made,” she added.
Amnesty International, a London-based organization, previously condemned the bill as “vague and excessively broad,” warning of its potential for arbitrary implementation.
“Once again, the Russian government is masking its ongoing crackdown on dissent as a fight against ‘extremism,’” remarked Marie Struthers, the director of Amnesty’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia division.
“In contemporary Russia, materials deemed ‘extremist’ could encompass anything from literature advocating for same-sex relationships to social media content from opposition groups,” Struthers noted.
Currently, the authorities in Moscow maintain a list of approximately 5,500 banned “extremist” items, which includes books, religious texts, songs, films, and various other media.
Should the lawmakers approve the bill and President Vladimir Putin endorse it, the fines would come into effect in September.
