Russia passes law punishing searches for 'extremist' content
Russians will face fines if they search online for "extremist" content under a new law that tightens censorship and could have sweeping ramifications for digital privacy and the fate of WhatsApp in the country.
The legislation, approved on Tuesday by parliament's lower house, the State Duma, has drawn criticism from some pro-government figures, as well as opposition activists. Opponents say the fines it prescribes, of up to 5,000 roubles ($63.82), could open the door to tougher charges and penalties.
The Ministry of Justice's list of extremist materials stretches to more than 500 pages. Entities banned in Russia for carrying out "extremist activities" include late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Fund, the "international LGBT movement" and U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms.
On Friday, lawmakers who regulate the IT sector said Meta-owned WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market as it was likely to be added to a list of restricted software.
The new legislation targets people who knowingly search for extremist materials online, including through virtual private networks (VPN) that millions of people across Russia use to bypass censorship and access banned content.
"This bill concerns a very narrow group of people, who look for extremist content because they themselves are already one step away from extremism," Sergei Boyarsky, head of the Duma's information technology committee, told Duma TV.
ONLINE SELF-CENSORSHIP
Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev said law enforcement would have to prove that users intended to view extremist materials and that merely accessing platforms would not be penalised.
It was not immediately clear how the authorities would determine intent in an online search. The lack of clarity has left many feeling uneasy.
Yekaterina Mizulina, head of Russia's League for a Safe Internet, a body founded with the authorities' support, criticised the law's "vague wording" and warned the law could spark a wave of fraud, blackmail and extortion.
"For now, the law applies only to the search for extremist materials, but there is no guarantee," Mizulina wrote on Telegram. "The list could be expanded in a couple of days."
Sarkis Darbinyan, founder of digital rights group Roskomsvoboda, said he expected people to start unsubscribing from certain channels and deleting apps.
"I think this is one of the main tasks that has been set: to create fear, to create such uncertainty so as to increase the level of self-censorship among the Russian internet audience," Darbinyan told Reuters.
Shadaev told the Duma that fines on the Russian population were preferable to banning platforms like WhatsApp and Google in Russia.
Moscow has long sought to establish what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting home-grown services, including a new state-backed messaging app, MAX, but many people across Russia still rely on foreign platforms.
POLITICAL PROTEST
Opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who tried unsuccessfully to run against Vladimir Putin in a presidential election last year, led a protest outside the Duma on Tuesday and promised to continue protesting the bill's passage through the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, before it becomes law on September 1.
"These amendments have caused a level of resistance in Russian society that has not been seen for a long time," Nadezhdin said, pointing to the surprisingly high number of lawmakers voting against the proposed legislation in the Duma, which rarely sees serious dissent.
The law was approved with 68% of the vote. There were 67 votes against the legislation, or 14.9%, and 22 abstentions. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
31 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump gives Mexico 90-day tariff reprieve as deadline for higher duties looms
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a vessel docked during a day of commercial activity at the port of Manzanillo, in Manzanillo, Mexico, December 14, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo U.S. President Donald Trump gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal but was expected to issue higher final duty rates for most other countries as the clock wound down on his Friday deal deadline. The extension, which avoids a 30% tariff on most Mexican non-automotive and non-metal goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, came after a Thursday morning call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. "We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow," Sheinbaum wrote in an X social media post, adding that the Trump call was "very good." Approximately 85% of Mexican exports comply with the rules of origin outlined in the USMCA, shielding them from 25% tariffs related to fentanyl, according to Mexico's economy ministry. Trump said that the U.S. would continue to levy a 50% tariff on Mexican steel, aluminum and copper and a 25% tariff on Mexican autos and on non-USMCA-compliant goods subject to tariffs related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis. "Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many," Trump said in a Truth Social post without providing details. Trump is expected to issue tariff rate proclamations later on Thursday for countries that have not struck trade deals by a 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) deadline. South Korea agreed on Wednesday to accept a 15% tariff on its exports to the U.S., including autos, down from a threatened 25%, as part of a deal that includes a pledge to invest $350 billion in U.S. projects to be chosen by Trump. But goods from India appeared to be headed for a 25% tariff after talks bogged down over access to India's agriculture sector, drawing a higher-rate threat from Trump that also included an unspecified penalty for India's purchases of Russian oil. Although negotiations with India were continuing, New Delhi vowed to protect the country's labor-intensive farm sector, triggering outrage from the opposition party and a slump in the rupee. TOUGH QUESTIONS FROM JUDGES Trump hit Brazil on Wednesday with a steep 50% tariff as he escalated his fight with Latin America's largest economy over its prosecution of his friend and former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from heavier levies. The run-up to Trump's tariff deadline was unfolding as federal appeals court judges sharply questioned Trump's use of a sweeping emergency powers law to justify his sweeping tariffs of up to 50% on nearly all trading invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare an emergency over the growing U.S. trade deficit and impose his "reciprocal" tariffs and a separate fentanyl emergency. The Court of International Trade ruled in May that the actions exceeded his executive authority, and questions from judges during oral arguments before the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit in Washington indicated further skepticism. "IEEPA doesn't even say tariffs, doesn't even mention them," Judge Jimmie Reyna said at one point during the hearing. CHINA DEAL NOT DONE U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States believes it has the makings of a trade deal with China, but it is "not 100% done," and still needs Trump's approval. U.S. negotiators "pushed back quite a bit" over two days of trade talks with the Chinese in Stockholm this week, Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
US Senator Wicker, head of Senate armed services panel, to visit Taiwan
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) speaks at a press conference following the U.S. Senate Republicans' weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, will lead a congressional delegation to Taiwan in August, a senior congressional official said on Thursday. The trip, which was first reported by the Financial Times, takes place as some members of Congress - both President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans and Democrats - have expressed concern that Trump is de-emphasizing security issues as he works on negotiating a trade deal with China. Lawmakers have proposed legislation to put pressure on China and voiced unhappiness with reports that Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te is set to delay a diplomatically sensitive trip his team had floated to the Trump administration for August that would have included stops in the United States. Administration officials have said that Trump remains fully committed to Asia-Pacific security matters as he pursues his trade agenda and a good personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wicker's upcoming trip. Wicker is one of the fiercest advocates in the U.S. Congress for Taiwan, and his visit is likely to anger Beijing, which regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. The Chinese embassy urged Wicker and lawmakers to cancel their plans. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Singapore 5 foreign women suspected of trafficking 27kg of cocaine nabbed in Changi Airport Singapore Fallen tree branch damages two Yishun flats, showering one home owner in shattered glass Singapore Man accused of raping woman who hired him to fix lights in her flat claims she made first move Singapore 1 ticket wins $12.8 million Toto jackpot draw Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' "China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan and urges the relevant lawmakers to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques and immediately cancel their plans to visit Taiwan," the spokesperson said in a post on China claims the democratically governed island as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Beijing has stepped up military and political pressure against the island in recent years. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Russia's FSB targets foreign embassies in Moscow in cyber espionage campaign, Microsoft says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building in central Moscow, Russia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo One of the Russian government's premier cyber espionage units is deploying malware against embassies and diplomatic organizations in Moscow by leveraging local internet service providers, Microsoft said on Thursday. The analysis confirms for the first time that Russia's Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB, is conducting cyber espionage at the ISP level, according to findings from Microsoft Threat Intelligence. 'Microsoft is now certain that this activity is happening within Russian borders,' Microsoft's director of Threat Intelligence Strategy, Sherrod DeGrippo, told Reuters. Microsoft's findings come amid increasing pressure from Washington for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war in Ukraine and pledges from NATO countries to increase defense spending surrounding their own concerns about Russia. The analysis tracks an FSB cyber espionage campaign that in February targeted unnamed foreign embassies in Moscow. The FSB activity facilitates the installation of custom backdoors on targeted computers, which can be used to install additional malware as well as steal data. Reuters could not determine which embassies were targeted. The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment. Russian diplomats did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow routinely denies carrying out cyber espionage operations. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Singapore 5 foreign women suspected of trafficking 27kg of cocaine nabbed in Changi Airport Singapore Fallen tree branch damages two Yishun flats, showering one home owner in shattered glass Singapore Man accused of raping woman who hired him to fix lights in her flat claims she made first move Singapore 1 ticket wins $12.8 million Toto jackpot draw Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' The hacking unit linked to the activity, which Microsoft tracks as 'Secret Blizzard' and others categorize as 'Turla,' has been hacking governments, journalists and others for nearly 20 years, the U.S. government said in May 2023 after the FBI disrupted one of its long-running operations. REUTERS
