Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, which www1.ru reported earlier, also supplement the introduction of fines for advertising and promoting VPN services. Fines for violating the new rules will be: for citizens — from 50,000 to 80,000 rubles, for officials — 80,000–100,000 rubles, and for legal entities — from 200,000 to 500,000 rubles.
The authors of the bill were deputies from "United Russia" and "A Just Russia". According to them, the restriction of VPN advertising is aimed at "protecting the digital space". However, experts note that this may affect the ways users access information.
Stanislav Seleznev, a digital security lawyer, explained that previously there were no direct measures of responsibility for using VPNs in the legislation. Now, control may be strengthened:
In addition, to identify such a violation, you can use the search history in your Google account or check the browser history and autofill results on the seized device. Operators will also help identify readers of "banned content": if users' traffic is not protected by special means, operators can perfectly see both which applications the user launches and which sites they visit.
The expert suggests that after the introduction of fines, users may more actively use incognito mode, and law enforcement agencies may check devices more often.
There are a lot of questions and comments on the text. One can only express the wish to introduce procedures for Duma projects similar to those provided for government bills - this could significantly improve the quality of parliamentary legislative initiatives.
We remind you that from June 1, 2025, amendments came into force in Russia, tightening the rules for transferring SIM cards to third parties. The law, signed by President Vladimir Putin on April 1, 2025, allows the transfer of SIM cards only to the owner's immediate relatives. These include parents, children, spouses, brothers and sisters (including half-siblings), as well as grandmothers, grandfathers and grandchildren. Now, the State Duma has also approved amendments introducing fines for violating these rules. According to the new Article 13.29.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences, the transfer of a number to unauthorized persons or the provision of access to mobile communications will be punishable by a fine of up to 50,000 rubles for legal entities, up to 30,000 rubles for officials, and up to 10,000 rubles for individuals. These measures are aimed at combating telephone and Internet fraud.
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