Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday put his signature to a law that fines internet users who search for web pages, books, artwork or music albums that authorities deem “extremist”.<\/p>\n
The law, slammed by critics as another dangerous attack on freedom of thought and expression in Russia, introduces fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($64) on anyone found to have deliberately searched for, or gained access to, material listed as “extremist materials”.<\/p>\n
More than 5,000 entries are on the official list, including songs praising Ukraine, blog posts by feminist rock band Pussy Riot and websites critical of Putin.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers in the lower house State Duma backed the bill earlier this month despite rare opposition from two parliamentary groups.<\/p>\n
Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who organised a protest against the bill, said it was like “something out of 1984” — a reference to George Orwell’s novel about a totalitarian superstate.<\/p>\n
“This law punishes thought crimes,” he told AFP earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The law also bans advertising for virtual private networks (VPNs) and impose fines for transferring SIM cards to another person, both ways of browsing with more privacy.<\/p>\n
Many Russian users continue to access websites banned by the state via VPN services that allow them to get around state blocks.<\/p>\n
Russia has drastically restricted press freedom and freedom of speech online since launching its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n
It has blocked access to dozens of Western sites, including Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n
bur\/rmb<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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