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Russian parliament approves a bill punishing online searches for information deemed ‘extremist’

RUSSIA, JUL 25 – Russia's new law fines online searches for extremist content up to $64 and threatens WhatsApp's ban unless it complies with strict local data and surveillance rules.

  • On July 18, Russian authorities announced plans to block WhatsApp, the nation’s most popular messaging platform, as part of digital sovereignty efforts.
  • Following the Duma vote, the Russian government passed a law criminalizing extremist searches, with a compliance deadline of 1 September 2025 set by President Vladimir Putin.
  • Under the new law, the legislation bars top VPNs, imposes 1,000–5,000 ruble fines for extremist searches and up to 80,000 ruble fines for VPN advertising.
  • Gorelkin noted on Telegram that Russian lawmakers believe it’s time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian market.
  • According to the Russian Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev, VK developed MAX with capabilities surpassing foreign apps, offering WeChat-like functions.
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99 Articles

Center

Many publications by the opposition and sexual minorities are classified as "extremist".

·Finland
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Left

Russia's Duma criminalizes the search for supposedly extremist content and advertising for VPN. Messengers like Whatsapp are also becoming more and more targeted.

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Lean Left

Russian parliament approves a bill punishing online searches for information deemed 'extremist'

The Russian parliament’s upper house has quickly approved a bill that punishes online searches for information officially deemed “extremist."

·United States
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currenttime.tv broke the news in on Monday, July 21, 2025.
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