The State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation approved fines for searching in Networks of prohibited extremist materials, including those using VPN services. TASS explains what this means.
The new article 13.53, which will potentially supplement the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (CAO), reads as follows: searching for knowingly extremist materials and gaining access to them, including using hardware and software to access information resources, information and telecommunications networks, access to which is restricted.
In other words, now, if a person intentionally enters a query from the federal list of extremist materials into a search engine, he risks getting a fine. Including if it uses a VPN. The document itself has 536 pages at the time of July 16, 2025, and it also mentions materials posted on Instagram*, Facebook* (banned in Owned by Meta Corporation*, recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) and Whatsapp (owned by Meta Corporation*, which is recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation).
Along with this, the amendment provides for administrative liability for owners of VPN services, operators who do not comply with the instructions of the authorities to restrict access to web resources blocked on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as for advertising the services of such services.
The purpose of the innovations is to increase the efficiency of regulating the information space and limit the possibility of circumventing existing bans on visiting some Internet resources.
Is there a fine for users who have pages on Instagram*, Facebook* and Whatsapp that are mentioned in the federal list of extremist materials? No, it's not. As Ivan Solovyov, Honored Lawyer of Russia and Doctor of Law, explains, judging by the information currently available, in general, the use of instant messengers and social networks, albeit recognized as extremist in Russia, is not yet punished through VPN.
Administrative responsibility will come for a specific request for material that is recognized as extremist, or rather, it already is. In addition, Solovyov noted that citizens should hardly be afraid of fines for information that accidentally got into their feed through uncontrolled algorithms.: "Most likely, responsibility will come not on the fact of involuntary familiarization with prohibited content, but only if the user intentionally searches for extremist materials. However, these points have yet to be fixed, to create a stable norm that will be consistent with basic human rights and common sense."
Can I withdraw gadgets to check search queries? Only if there are good reasons for this — for example, in order to draw up evidence for the court. Suspects in violation may be asked to provide devices.
However, you should not be afraid that they will approach you on the street and ask for a phone number for familiarization. Most likely, the reason to suspect a person of extremist requests may be information provided by Roskomnadzor and mobile operators, operational information and statements by other citizens.
Is there a fine for citizens who have to search for prohibited work materials? And for those who are just interested? The law applies to those who purposefully seek or gain access to materials recognized as extremist and included in the official list of the Ministry of Justice. There are no exceptions on professional grounds: journalists, scientists and other citizens will not be able to freely search for such materials on the Internet. For their study, a special procedure is envisaged related to work in library collections.
On the other hand, the usual search for information in The network does not entail liability. Punishment is applied only upon proof of intent, that is, deliberate circumvention of established barriers to obtaining prohibited materials.
If you search in If you quote from forbidden material, can you get punished? For example, a piece from a song or a play. An important caveat in the draft law is that liability occurs only in the case of an intentional request. Thus, if the user unintentionally, as in the described case, stumbles upon prohibited content, there will be no punishment. In other words, responsibility comes for citizens who knew that this or that content was extremist, and still tried to find it on the Web.
If the search query contains a specific name from the list of extremist materials, as well as related circumstances indicating that the user understood what he was dealing with, administrative liability may occur.
Should I be afraid of a fine if I searched for extremist materials in the past? The law is not retroactive. Therefore, punishment can only be imposed for actions committed starting from the date when it entered into force. Therefore, it makes no sense to run now to clean up the search history.
How do I keep track of which materials are extremist? Ignorance of the law does not exempt from responsibility. In order not to get into a mess, you can check the federal list of extremist materials. However, this does not mean that now you need to check every search query. Most often, it can be assumed in advance whether this or that content is extremist.
If the material that interests you touches, for example, on the topics of religious or racial hatred and terrorism, it is better to double-check everything once again. But obviously, if you just want to watch cute videos with cats, there is no danger.
Will I be fined for having a VPN installed? The new law does not involve punishment for VPN services. Now the amendment is under consideration. At the moment, only the second reading has passed in the State Duma, followed by the third, after which there is still consideration by the Federation Council.
"In its current form, there are many white spots in the law," Ivan Solovyov notes. — Its enforcement needs to be finalized and clarified in order to dispel the fears of citizens."
*Extremist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation