Klimenko says abandoning anonymity is the condition for defeating destructive content online

Klimenko's statement

Destructive content on the internet can be eliminated completely in a single step — by removing anonymity. This claim was made by German Klimenko, head of the council of the Digital Economy Development Fund, at the NSN press center, reports Gazeta.Ru. According to him, it is precisely the ability to publish materials without revealing one's identity that creates the problem: “As soon as anonymity disappears, destructive content disappears. Because there is immediately someone to hold accountable. Countries with high levels of anonymity have this problem.”

Caveats and examples

Klimenko emphasized that he is not calling for following North Korea's path, but he believes stricter rules than those in force today need to be introduced. As an example, he cited the story of the “Blue Whale” groups, which, according to him, no one had prevented from being created under conditions of anonymity or with the use of VPNs. “That is why this is such a clumsy way of fighting,” he concluded.

State Duma forecast and context

Klimenko's statement echoes the position of State Duma deputies: back in October 2025 they predicted that within the next three years any actions by Russians on the internet would be de-anonymized, and access to the network would be granted only after identification. In conversations with Gazeta.Ru, the deputies noted that every subscriber would register through a specialized identifier confirming their age and other required access permissions; in their view, this would limit the spread of undesirable, illegal content and material created by bot farms. Thus, the idea of abandoning anonymity as a tool for combating destructive content is voiced both by the expert community and by legislators, but so far this remains forecasts and assessments rather than adopted decisions. Earlier, the State Duma also explained, who would be fined for authorizing through foreign services.