Russia criminalising 'extremist' content

Express Tribune

18-07-2025

Songs by Pussy Riot are on the list. Photo: File
Russian lawmakers on Thursday advanced a bill that would outlaw opening or searching for content online judged "extremist", such as songs glorifying Ukraine and material by feminist rock band Pussy Riot.
Critics say the law, which has drawn a rare backlash from across Russia's political spectrum, would stifle internet freedom.
Russian authorities already block access to thousands of websites accused of hosting "extremist" content.
The latest proposed legislation threatens fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($64) on anyone found to have deliberately searched for or gained access to material listed as extremist by the justice ministry.
More than 5,000 entries are on the list, including web pages, political slogans, books, artworks and music albums.
Among them are songs glorifying Ukraine, blog posts by feminist rock band Pussy Riot and information on the Wikipedia page for dynamite.
Deputies in the lower house State Duma backed the bill by 283 votes to 22 in its second reading.
It is not clear whether the government supports the bill. The Kremlin said the proposal needed "more detailed explanations" to allay people's concerns.
"I am not familiar with the initiative by the deputies," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question from AFP.
The bill requires three readings and approval by Russia's upper house before President Vladimir Putin can sign it into law.
During Thursday's second reading, lawmaker Alexander Teterdinko of the governing United Russia party said the legislation would only affect those who "deliberately" search for extremist material.
"That is to say, if you Google something and material appears in the search results, but you do not click on it, do not read it, do not use it in any way... you will not fall under this article," he said.
Others, however, expressed concern over the apparent lack of safeguards.
It was not clear how the bill would work in practice, and whether internet service providers or websites would be responsible for monitoring violations.