Maxim Ali has provided his comments to Advokatskaya Gazeta on the tightening of control over social networks

On 7 March the Russian Duma passed at third reading a number of laws which introduce administrative liability for sharing prohibited information on the internet, which is direspective to authorities and misinformation that threatens public safety.

Head of the IP/IT Practice at Maxima Legal, Maxim Ali, stated to Advokatskaya Gazeta that, according to the bill, a individual can be fined a large sum or even arrested for an offence, the meaning of which he cannot understand in advance. “From the literal interpretation of the law, it follows that a violation is, for example, disrespect for a state symbol, which simultaneously offends human dignity and public morality. It’s quite difficult to imagine a combination of all these in practice”, said Maxim Ali.

At the same time, the lawyer noted that a large amount of information could be banned particularly for the media who might not be able to confirm the accuracy of the information in reports and could therefore be blocked under the terms of the law.

To read the material in full (in Russian), please see the Advokatskaya Gazeta’s website