the State Duma is discussing a ban on the use of social networks for foreign agents – Kommersant

Member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption and co-author of the law on foreign agents Andrei Alshevskikh (United Russia) told the TV channel RTVIthat the State Duma is discussing the concept of a bill that would prohibit foreign agents from using social networks.

The deputy noted that the status of a foreign agent is not “a stigma for life.” According to him, one can get rid of it after eliminating the violations on the basis of which the person received this status. It follows from this, he noted, that the restrictions proposed by deputies are valid for a certain time period.

Andrei Alshevskikh believes that the bill banning advertising on the resources of foreign agents and promoting these resources in the media, approved in the first reading, is a half-measure. In his opinion, deputies “have a liberal approach to this topic”; they should act more principled.

“We should start with such a basic thing as banning foreign agents from using social networks. When they lose their foreign agent status, they will again be able to continue talking on their social networks about butterflies and so on,” the deputy said. He stated that if such a law is adopted, there will be a category of foreign agents who will begin to comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation and leave social networks, and there will be those who are outside Russia and will continue to publish posts. In the second case, there will be “other response steps,” Andrei Alshevskikh noted, without specifying what measures are being discussed.

On February 20, the State Duma 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.

Read more in the Kommersant article. “The advertising slot was closed for foreign agents”.

Erdni Kagaltynov