The key facts
- The State Duma committee recommended passing the fines bill in its first reading
- Fines for organizations — up to 1 million rubles for failure to comply with an order and up to 5 million rubles for a repeat violation
- Liability can be avoided by removing the work within 24 hours after the distribution license is revoked
What the State Duma committee approved
The relevant State Duma committee recommended passing a bill in its first reading, under which owners of online cinemas and social networks could be fined for distributing works that discredit traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, as well as for refusing to remove such content. This was reported by Life.ru.
Fine amounts
The document provides for two types of violations. For failure to comply, or untimely compliance, with an order to remove content, fines will range from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles for citizens, from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles for officials, and from 700,000 to 1 million rubles for organizations. In case of a repeat violation, the amounts increase: 150,000–300,000 rubles for citizens, 600,000–800,000 for officials, and 1.5–5 million rubles for legal entities.
Liability for the distribution itself
Separate sanctions are established directly for distributing works containing material that discredits traditional values: for the first offense, citizens face a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 rubles, officials — 50,000 to 100,000, and companies — 500,000 to 700,000 rubles. For a repeat violation — 50,000 to 150,000 rubles for citizens, 300,000–400,000 for officials, and 1–3 million rubles for organizations.
A way to avoid the fine
The bill allows for exemption from liability: if the owner of an audiovisual service removes the work within 24 hours after the distribution license is revoked, no fine will be imposed. The explanatory note recalls that the restrictions on distributing such content themselves were introduced in July 2025 — the new document specifically introduces penalties for violating them.
Context: the removal of 'Method'
The practice of removing content is already being applied: earlier online cinemas removed the third season of the series 'Method' starring Konstantin Khabensky at the request of Roskomnadzor. The project's producer Vladimir Maslov said that the creators requested an explanation of the reasons for the series' removal, but no specific complaints about the film's content were explained to them. If the bill is passed, platforms will face direct financial liability for failing to comply with such demands, and rights holders will have a clear 24-hour window after the revocation of the distribution license to avoid a fine.
