The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill banning advertising on foreign agents’ resources and promoting these resources in the media

The State Duma on Tuesday adopted in the first reading a bill banning advertising on the resources of foreign agents and the promotion of these resources in the media. The document was not supported by the New People faction, which believed that it could harm conscientious entrepreneurs. At the meeting, deputies also shared ideas for further changes to the legislation on foreign agents, which “seep into the cracks and holes.”

The bill was submitted to the Duma on February 15 by a group of 395 deputies led by Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Amendments to the laws “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence”, “On advertising” and “On the media”, as follows from the explanatory note, are designed to counter “hidden foreign interference in the internal political affairs of the state.” For this purpose, the distribution of advertising by foreign agents, as well as the promotion of their own information resources in the media, is prohibited. As Kommersant previously reported (see issue dated February 16), this bill is only the first of initiatives to regulate the advertising market that are planned to be adopted this year. For example, deputy Anton Gorelkin (United Russia, United Russia) on February 15, at a meeting with bloggers at the Russia exhibition, said that a bill was already ready to ban Russian companies from advertising on banned social networks.

Telling deputies about the bill, its co-author, head of the Duma Security Committee Vasily Piskarev (ER), confirmed that this is “the next and, obviously, not the last chance to protect the sovereignty of our country, security and counter interference in our internal affairs.” The deputy also recalled the previous step – the bill on confiscation of property and deprivation of honorary titles for crimes against the security of the Russian Federation, which the president signed just a week ago.

Mr. Piskarev said that last year, over 200 Russian individuals and legal entities advertised their goods and services on the resources of foreign agents, bringing them profit, “according to the most conservative estimates, more than 130 million rubles.”

Mikhail Matveev (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) asked what to do if “insidious foreign agents” place an advertisement for a person or company without their knowledge – just to create problems for them. Vice Speaker Irina Yarovaya (ER) responded to this: in such cases, “verification activities are carried out by authorized bodies,” and in relation to the foreign agent, “the issue of holding them accountable for fraud and forgery will be additionally decided.” Vyacheslav Volodin explained that the movement of money through accounts can be easily tracked, which means it will not be difficult to prove the innocence of those who did not pay foreign agents for advertising. And Andrei Alshevskikh (United Russia) proposed adding a ban on advertising with the participation of a foreign agent to the bill. Vasily Piskarev advised him to formalize this idea in the form of an amendment to the second reading.

Then the deputies moved on to speeches from the factions. Dmitry Vyatkin (ER) delved into the history of the emergence of foreign agents in Russian legislation, which dates back to 2012. “Hundreds of deputies were co-authors of the first law on foreign agents, but in this hall there were also those who actively opposed its adoption,” the United Russia member recalled. The Duma old-timers looked at each other suspiciously, but United Russia reassured them, saying that opponents of the law “have been abroad for a long time, and someone has been convicted and also isolated from society.” Well, now, according to him, the Duma has “a lot of work to do to close those cracks and holes where foreign agents are trying to infiltrate.”

The theme of “holes” was picked up by Andrei Lugovoi (LDPR). In his opinion, it is necessary to pass a law obliging not only foreign agents, but also their close relatives to “report for the year on their income and expenses, their possession of securities and real estate.”

Also, according to the liberal democrat, it is necessary to oblige “those who fled from Russia” but have real estate in the country to register the sale or re-registration of property “only in personal presence here.”

Sardana Avksentyeva (“New People”) was the only one who criticized the project, which, in her opinion, “may harm conscientious citizens and entrepreneurs.” After all, if an ill-wisher orders an advertisement for his competitor from a foreign agent, then the entire burden of proof in court will fall on this innocent competitor, “and that’s a whole story.” In addition, Ms. Avksentyeva recalled, there is no register of information resources owned by foreign agents, and they may have a “complex ownership structure.” There is also “no legislative obligation for foreign agents to notify advertisers about their status,” the deputy emphasized. And finally, “one more inconsistency: there is no procedure for terminating contractual relations if a person has been recognized as a foreign agent.” Therefore, the New People faction decided not to vote for the draft in its current form and intends to make amendments to the second reading.

Vyacheslav Volodin returned the conversation to the mainstream of consensus, recalling that “the authors of this bill are 395 State Duma deputies, representatives of different political factions.” “The purpose of the bill is to stop the funding of unfriendly resources. Foreign agents, as a rule, are located abroad, but their resources, websites, blogs, and many other opportunities that social networks allow work in our country. And therefore, we, for our part, must do everything to ensure that the funds of our respectable citizens, organizations and institutions are not directed to these resources… Because they work under the dictation of the State Department, Washington and Brussels,” the speaker concluded.

396 deputies responded to his call and voted for the bill, there were no opponents or abstentions.

Ksenia Veretennikova