Russia introduces fines for insulting authorities on the Internet
The Russian State Duma adopted a law that introduces punishment for disrespectful Internet publications about the government and government officials.
According to the Current Time news outlet , individuals accused of “disseminating information expressed in an indecent manner that offends human dignity and public morality, [that shows] a clear disrespect of society, country, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation or bodies exercising the state power of Russia” are subject to monetary fines.
Punishment is an administrative fine from 30 to a 10,000 rubles or 0.45 to 1,500 dollars. Repeat offenders will received fines for 100,000 to 200,000 rubles or about 1,500 to 3,000 dollars or be sentenced to 15.
The State Duma also adopted the law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” that prohibits “fake news dissemination by the media and on the Internet”.
The law mandates the removal of the fake information and a mechanism to block the Internet publication and to fine those who do not comply. Administrative responsibility is incurred only if the publication does not respond to the requirements of the supervisory authority.