The government commission assessed parliamentary initiatives

The Government Commission on Legislative Activities on Tuesday reviewed a number of initiatives by deputies. This time, two United Russia bills aimed at tightening responsibility for publishing materials containing violent content on the Internet received conceptual support. Thus, it is proposed to make the fact that a particular crime was broadcast online an aggravating circumstance. Another initiative proposes to establish administrative liability for the dissemination of materials containing particularly brutal illegal acts or calls for them. The expert believes that not only trash streams, but also the events at the Makhachkala airport, where on October 29 local residents tried to organize a pogrom against Jews, may be subject to the new norms.

The head of the Duma Security Committee, Vasily Piskarev (United Russia), proposed adding to the list of circumstances aggravating criminal punishment with a public demonstration of the preparation or commission of a crime, including on the Internet. The Commission supported the initiative, subject to revision. The Cabinet of Ministers believes that those listed in Art. 63 of the Criminal Code, aggravating circumstances are universal in nature and are taken into account by the court, including when assigning punishment for crimes committed through negligence. This means that the author should justify how his proposed rule will be applied in such cases. The commission also predicts difficulties in enforcing the rule, since the Criminal Code contains a defining feature of a crime with a similar wording.

A similar fate befell the initiative of another United Russia member, head of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy Artem Metelev. He proposed establishing administrative liability for the illegal distribution on the Internet of materials depicting unlawful acts committed with particular cruelty, their consequences, calls for the commission of these acts or their propaganda, committed for selfish and hooligan motives, as well as motivated by racial, national or religious hatred or hostility or based on hatred or enmity against any social group, unless these actions contain a criminal offense. It is intended that this rule will not apply to works of art “of significant historical, artistic or cultural value”, publications of registered media and materials intended for use for scientific or medical purposes. Although the commission supported the bill in principle, it notes that it would be wrong to exclude only valuable works of art from the rule. And vice versa, in the opinion of the commission, the definition of materials depicting acts committed exclusively “with particular cruelty” as the subject of violation unjustifiably narrows the application of the norm. Also, determining the motives for the violation will take time, the Cabinet believes. Finally, the commission found the terms “propaganda”, “mockery”, “sadism”, which appear in the text of the bill, vague. It is proposed to give the police and Roskomnadzor the authority to draw up protocols. At the same time, the police do not have the authority to monitor violations in information and telecommunication networks, and Roskomnadzor is not directly involved in identifying persons posting information, the commission notes.

Another initiative that has found conceptual support from the Cabinet belongs to the deputy of the New People faction, Alexander Demin. He proposed to prohibit the collection from debtors of property acquired through government payments for the poor. At the same time, the draft conclusion notes that the bill does not talk about the purposes of providing social assistance and does not define the procedure for separating these and other funds, as well as the period during which such property cannot be recovered.

But the initiative of United Russia deputy Olga Zanko received a negative conclusion from the commission. The parliamentarian proposed providing socially oriented NGOs with free use of land plots in state or municipal ownership for a period of up to ten years. The commission indicated that state authorities and local governments already have the opportunity to help NPOs, including financially. In addition, the Land Code also defines a list of cases when plots can be provided for free use, including to such organizations. According to the commission, if such assistance becomes mandatory, it will not comply with the provisions of the law on NPOs. In addition, the materials for the bill “do not justify the need to provide such support.”

Leonid Slutsky’s amendments to the Labor Code did not find understanding among the government either. The LDPR leader proposed limiting working hours to 32 hours a week for parents of three or more children under the age of 18, until the youngest turns 14. The Cabinet Commission believes that such a rule could have a “negative impact on the normal course of work” due to the fact that employers will have to look for a replacement during the absence of an employee with many children. In addition, the amendments may reduce the competitiveness of such parents in the labor market, because their potential employer will evaluate possible costs when hiring. In addition, for such workers, Articles 261 and 262 of the Labor Code already establish certain preferences, the commission points out.

“The publicity of the commission of a crime is rightly considered by deputies as an aggravating circumstance, since it has a destructive effect on the psyche of young people,” Pavel Sklyanchuk, a member of the committee of the Russian Association of Public Relations, explains the logic of supporting the first two bills. “Trash streams and school jokes are a global threat to the younger generation , so legislators are reacting by tightening responsibility. In addition, recent events at the Makhachkala airport may also be subject to the new rules, which is especially important during the major electoral cycle of 2024–2026.”

Ksenia Veretennikova