Curiosity Under Threat: Even Looking for Banned Material Now Punishable
Starting September 2025, a new Russian law will come into force, making it illegal not only to share or publish “extremist” content but even to search for it online. While previous laws targeted reposts and publications, the new legislation punishes users simply for entering search queries or clicking on links—especially when doing so through VPN services.
The law introduces fines of around $65 for the “deliberate search for knowingly extremist materials,” including cases where users access such content via VPNs or other circumvention tools. Advertising or promoting these tools will carry significantly higher penalties—up to $2,500 for individuals and $12,800 for companies.
Human rights defenders warn that the vague language of the bill poses significant risks. Leading internet lawyer and activist Sarkis Darbinyan (designated a “foreign agent” in Russia) stated:
“The fines might be small, but they lay the groundwork for pressure, detentions, police summons. I fear that administrative fines could turn into criminal prosecutions next.”
How the Law Was Passed—and Why No One Knew Until It Was Too Late
According to Net Freedoms, a digital rights watchdog, the bill was passed through all three readings in the State Duma in a single day. Lawmakers quietly attached the amendments to an unrelated technical bill regulating freight companies—a common tactic used to avoid public scrutiny and speed up the legislative process.
“Authorities often use this trick: they insert repressive measures into dormant technical bills to slip them through unnoticed,” said Net Freedoms in a public statement.
After media reports triggered widespread concern, one of the bill’s authors, Senator Artem Sheikin, attempted to reassure the public. Speaking to state-run media outlets, he insisted that the new law “is not aimed at mass punishment of users” and “is primarily about regulating providers.” He said:
“Browsing Facebook or Instagram via VPN does not constitute an offense. Responsibility will only apply to cases where users knowingly search for and access materials officially recognized as extremist.”
However, critics note that the law offers no clear mechanism for determining whether a user knowingly sought out prohibited content, leaving broad room for arbitrary interpretation.
Even Kremlin Loyalists Are Alarmed
The law has drawn criticism not only from independent activists but even from pro-government figures. Yekaterina Mizulina, head of the Safe Internet League and daughter of a Russian senator, warned that the measure could paradoxically undermine her organization’s mission of tracking online extremism:
“It turns out that under the new law, the Safe Internet League won’t be able to transfer data on extremist communities to the Interior Ministry. We’ll be banned from monitoring extremism,” she wrote on Telegram.
The new measures further strengthen surveillance mechanisms already in place. Russian internet service providers are legally required to store and share user data with authorities, and platforms like VKontakte and Yandex may now be pressured to provide access to search queries, browsing history, and even autofill data. Public Wi-Fi networks and browser caches could also become sources of evidence.
This move follows earlier steps to criminalize circumvention technologies. In 2024, Russia passed a law banning not just the use but even the promotion of VPNs. Soon after, Russian authorities demanded that Apple and Google remove such apps from their stores. According to the GreatFire project, Apple complied with 60 takedown requests, while Google honored only 6 out of 212.
At the same time, Russia is investing millions of dollars in “sovereign internet” infrastructure and expanding the use of deep packet inspection (DPI) technologies to enable more precise blocking. Western platforms like YouTube, X, and Instagram have been throttled or blocked, encouraging users to shift toward domestic services and cutting them off from independent information.
According to The Washington Post, the new law marks a shift from controlling what people say to controlling what they think. Punishing users for simply seeking information suggests a new level of surveillance, where curiosity itself becomes suspicious.
In an environment where a single click can be interpreted as “intentional access to extremism,” even the act of wondering becomes a potential offense. The Russian state’s approach to internet regulation is moving from censorship to preemption—blocking not just speech, but thought.
This article was prepared based on materials published by The Washington Post. The author does not claim authorship of the original text but presents their interpretation of the content for informational purposes.
The original article can be found at the following link: The Washington Post.
All rights to the original text belong to The Washington Post.
