The bottom line is: destructive content on the Internet is planned to be blocked before the trial

They want to block destructive content on the Web before the trial — the State Duma has begun to develop such a mechanism. Amendments are being prepared to the law "On Information," Izvestia found out. It is proposed to create a special commission under Roskomnadzor, which will consider complaints from people and organizations. In addition, the law will define the concept of "destructive content." In 2024, Roskomnadzor blocked twice as much such content as in 2023. Experts support the initiative, but they note that the criteria should be clear and transparent so that the new tool does not become a reason for arbitrary restrictions.

What amendments are being prepared to the law

The State Duma is considering amendments to the law "On Information", which will allow blocking destructive content before the court. The proposals to Andrey Svintsov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, were submitted by the Bloggers' Council, and he considered them correct.

— A few years ago, we began to significantly delve into the issue of what kind of content our citizens consume, and the issue of destructive content has not been resolved to date. We need to study it, prescribe this concept in as much detail as possible so that Roskomnadzor has the opportunity to pre—trial block such content," Andrei Svintsov told Izvestia.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev

According to him, the task of defining and describing what destructive content is should be solved this year. It is important to prepare the amendments themselves and submit them to the State Duma for consideration also in 2025.

Valeria Rytvina, the founder of the Bloggers' Council, told Izvestia that letters had been sent to the Prosecutor General's Office, the Interior Ministry and Roskomnadzor with this initiative and a request to support it. The documents were reviewed by Izvestia. The editorial board sent inquiries to these departments.

— The legislation does not legally define the concept of destructive content, and therefore it is impossible to say unequivocally what exactly applies to it. Therefore, I consider the amendments to the law justified. Our proposal is not only to give a clear concept, but also to establish the possibility of an extrajudicial blocking," said the founder of the social movement.

She added that today it is impossible to block such content on the Web without a court decision or the Prosecutor General's Office. In this regard, it is proposed to create a special commission under Roskomnadzor, which will work with user requests (individuals and legal entities) and make decisions on blocking a particular resource, said Valeria Rytvina.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Konstantin Kokoshkin

In addition, the Bloggers' Council is ready to post a request form on its website that users can fill out. The received data will be transmitted automatically to Roskomnadzor for decision-making on blocking. Such a form may appear as early as this summer, she noted.

As Roskomnadzor told Izvestia, the volume of destructive content on the Internet in the Russian Federation increased in 2024: the number of blocked or deleted materials calling for mass riots increased 2.2 times, and attempts to involve minors in illegal actions increased almost 1.5 times.

The issue of enshrining the concept of "destructive content" in legislation has been raised before. One of the initiators in 2024 was State Duma Deputy Speaker Anna Kuznetsova: she reported that deputies received a large number of requests from parents asking them to protect children from dangerous information on the Internet. However, this issue has not been resolved yet.

How did the experts evaluate the initiative

Destructive content on the Internet is spreading much faster than government mechanisms can respond. This concerns materials encouraging minors to join dangerous communities, as well as propaganda of violence, Yulia Zagitova, founder of the Breaking Trends communication agency and secretary of the Russian Union of Journalists, told Izvestia.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov

— That is why it is important to work out a mechanism for quick blocking. Not in every case there is time for a lengthy judicial procedure — for example, when it comes to protecting the life and psyche of a child, the reaction should be instantaneous. At the same time, it is important to maintain a balance so that the new tool does not become a reason for arbitrary restrictions. A clear, transparent and expert procedure is needed," Yulia Zagitova said.

However, she noted that the amendment alone would not solve the problem completely — it was one of the steps. The effectiveness will depend on how the mechanism is implemented, how the interaction between the supervisory authorities, IT companies, expert and civil society communities is established.

"If everything is done correctly, it can seriously reduce the volume of dangerous content, especially that aimed at children and teenagers," the expert emphasized.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Konkov

Andrey Afanasyev, Chairman of the family Information Security Committee of the Parents' Chamber Union, told Izvestia that every platform has a "complain" function, but in practice it practically does not work. All such requests are sent to the platform's internal moderation service, which in most cases simply rejects them. As a result, the content that users complained about is not deleted, the expert said about the problem.

"It is necessary to oblige platforms to redirect such complaints not to their internal services, but directly to law enforcement or regulatory authorities that will be able to really respond and take measures to remove content," he said.

In addition, in his opinion, there is another important issue — how to ensure that these requirements are met, including by foreign platforms and messengers.

— No matter what laws are passed, many of them do not comply with them. This has been repeatedly confirmed in practice," the expert said.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov

According to Yuri Nesterenko, a member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Motherhood and Childhood, there is a lot of destructive content in Russia that violates the legislation of the Russian Federation. It can take weeks or even months to determine and evaluate it, so such amendments could take protection mechanisms to a new level in ensuring the safety of children, he concluded.