No money: bloggers will be banned from doing interviews with escort girls
The State Duma proposes to ban advertising of escort services. The restrictions will also apply to bloggers who invite representatives of this profession to podcasts and interviews. We are talking about amendments to the Administrative Code, Izvestia learned. Violators face a fine of up to 1 million rubles. Experts are wondering what criteria will be used to determine membership in this field. Whether the initiative will help solve the problem of popularizing such services is described in the Izvestia article.
Prohibition of promotion of escort services
The State Duma is considering amendments to Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, as part of the amendments it is proposed to ban the promotion and advertising of escort services. Violators face a fine of up to 1 million rubles. Such an initiative is currently being discussed by the Bloggers Council and Andrei Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications.
— We have started working on this issue. First of all, we plan to prepare specific amendments to the Administrative Code. It's not so much about fighting individuals as about preventing the spread of such behavior as a social example," said Andrey Svintsov.
He noted that if someone considers such behavior acceptable, it may be due to the shortcomings of upbringing and it is difficult to directly influence this. However, it is important not to allow such images to become the norm or inspire others, the deputy stressed.
Valeria Rytvina, the founder of the Bloggers' Council, told Izvestia that everyone has the right to choose their own type of activity independently, taking into account the norms of criminal and administrative law. However, at some point, a paradoxical substitution of concepts occurred - escorts began to be called not escorting top officials, but so—called luxury prostitution.
— The main problem today is that no one is shy or hiding it, but on the contrary, they give interviews, participate in talk shows, and promote this lifestyle among young girls. The amendment to the Administrative Code banning propaganda will at least reduce the desire to invite such "heroines" for interviews and show their lives to young people as a standard," said Valeria Rytvina.
In her opinion, there is no need to complicate regulation — it is enough to introduce an amendment to the Administrative Code banning the promotion of prostitution with a fine of up to 1 million rubles. This will also cover veiled escorts if they are presented as an easy and attractive way to earn money. It is important that the rules are clear and applicable in practice, the expert explained.
Yaroslav Meshalkin, Managing Partner of the Heads'made digital communications agency, was skeptical about the initiative. He noted that it is important to understand by what criteria it is planned to determine belonging to a profession, which is actually a euphemism for a completely different kind of activity, responsibility for which is already provided for in the Administrative Code and the Criminal Code.
One of the Telegram channels reported that men began actively looking for female companions to accompany them at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, offering from 150,000 to 600,000 rubles per day. A girl must have an accreditation and an impeccable wardrobe. In addition, one of the bloggers on YouTube posted an interview with an escort after SPIEF 2024 called "The body as a business." It describes the nuances of this activity and the specifics of running a similar business that serves the needs of well-off people. Another blogger invited an escort man to his show for a big interview. In it, he tells who brought him into the "profession", who changes more often and which girls use the services.
How did the experts evaluate the initiative?
Lawyer Zinaida Chuprova supports the initiative, noting that she had not previously encountered escort-related content until she began to study the problem.
— I've been sent a lot of videos and podcasts where girls who provide escort services talk about it as something attractive and even desirable. This creates the illusion of an easy, beautiful life without consequences. However, in reality, such stories do not always end well — there are many cases when everything turned into a tragedy, especially when it came to traveling abroad," the lawyer said.
It is important to understand, she noted, that escort is not exactly prostitution in the classical sense. Initially, it was an escort: appearance, the ability to conduct a conversation, support in society. For example, a person may pay for an escort to an event without any sexual context. However, in reality, escort services often imply sexual relations, the expert emphasized.
— It is necessary to clearly define in the law what exactly is meant by escort services if we want to include their propaganda in the composition of administrative offenses, — she said.
Such an initiative can protect girls, especially young and insecure ones, from false guidance. The promotion of a "beautiful life" through escorts is not aimed at love, family and personal development, Zinaida Chuprova added.
Today, young girls spend a lot of time on social networks, in the media space, where beautiful pictures of escorts are actively shown. Having seen enough of this, girls begin to want to get the same easy and beautiful life, says blogger Oksana Kozhemyako. However, this is only an illusion. Young people need to be taught different values and to increase the importance of professions important to society, she concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
