The Interior Ministry said that the measure is aimed at preventing the dissemination of information that could facilitate criminal activity and is designed to improve the protection of public security and the safety of citizens. The instruction will allow authorities to intervene promptly and effectively in the digital environment to prevent access to content that encourages violence, crime and other forms of anti-social behavior, strengthening cybersecurity and reducing the risks associated with cybercrime.
Head of the Interior Ministry Daniella Misail-Nikitina noted that the online environment has become extremely vulnerable to certain crimes, such as online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, drug trafficking through stores promoted on certain platforms, fraud in the digital environment.
Thus, in 2024, the police registered about 600 sexual crimes, more than 1,000 crimes related to drug trafficking, about 3,000 cases of fraud, including by cloning pages selling tickets, which were used to deceive citizens and illegally obtain money from them.
The Minister explained that the authorities will independently identify such content, or respond to citizens’ reports. “After checking the site by an authorized institution within a maximum of 24 hours, a blocking order will be issued with all guarantees of transparency of the decision. Site owners who do not agree with such measures will be able to challenge the decision of law enforcement agencies. We know that, for example, many stores selling drugs operate on the Telegram platform. After applying this procedure, access to illegal content will be blocked. In general, if a page calls for the commission of a crime, it will be blocked and access to the content will be suspended.”
