Moscow Opens Door to Widespread Digital Surveillance

Executive Summary:

• New laws upping the penalties for Russians who access “extremist” content through unauthorized means reflect Moscow’s growing paranoia with an increasingly frustrated population.
• Russian officials have justified widespread Internet outages as necessary to the war effort, though many see it as a smokescreen for intensifying domestic surveillance and later criminalizing access to unlawful material.
• The mass shutdowns are significantly disrupting Russia’s digital economy. Estimates show that one hour of mobile Internet outages can cost a regional economy over 750 million rubles ($9.4 million).

On June 22, the Russian State Duma voted to confirm and pass a new law that expands restrictions and liabilities for unlawful civilian use of the Internet, including “searching for extremist material” (The Moscow Times, July 22). This summer, cases of Internet shutdowns in Russia have become more widespread. According to the “Na Svyazi” (“Online”) project and other monitoring organizations, more than 650 local shutdowns were recorded in June 2025 alone, more than typically occur globally in an entire year. The restrictions affected over half of Russia’s regions, including many areas far from the frontlines (Telegram/Na_Syvazi_helpdesk, July 3; Meduza, July 7). The Kremlin has rationalized the highly restrictive approach as necessary for military needs, but it has become clear that these policies are merely the next step in monitoring an increasingly frustrated and distraught population, all while limiting digital access and privacy (see EDM, July 24 [1], [2]).

Core aspects of the new bill increase penalties for accessing prohibited materials. Article 13.52 penalizes users “violating the procedure for using hardware and software tools to access information resources and information-telecommunications networks” on Russian territory (Forbes.ru, July 15; Mediazona, July 16). This measure effectively concerns the operation of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other means of circumventing Internet blocks. For violations that include “failure to connect to the unified [i.e., state-run] VPN monitoring system,” the proposed fines could reach up to 200,000 rubles ($2,500) for individuals, 300,000 rubles ($3,900) for state officials, and 1 million rubles ($12,800) for businesses and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). For owners of devices used to access banned websites, fines could mean an additional 80,000 rubles ($1,000) for individuals, 150,000 rubles ($1,900) for state officials, and 500,000 rubles ($6,300) for businesses and NGOs.

Article 13.53 of the new law zeroes in on access to “extremist” materials. The measure calls for fines against those “searching for knowingly extremist materials and accessing them” using unauthorized software and hardware. The intentional search or viewing of prohibited extremist content, as laid out in an official list from the Ministry of Justice, will bring fines of up to 5,000 ($65) rubles for individuals, with repeat offenses entailing higher penalties (Parlamentskaya gazeta, July 15; Mediazona, July 16; see EDM, July 24). As of now, the bill does not introduce criminal penalties, though such amendments could be easily added in the future (Forbes.ru, July 15).

The Kremlin cited military concerns, specifically drone attacks, as the main reason for the recent centralization and Internet shutdowns (The Moscow Times, July 15). The primary impetus for this justification was Ukraine’s daring “Operation Spiderweb,” in which drones smuggled into Russian territory were then activated via mobile Internet to strike targets deep inside Russia (see EDM, June 9; Ukrinform, June 11). In response to the attack, regional officials began restricting mobile Internet in their regions to hinder future drone operations. The shutdowns themselves increased after Russia Day (June 12) and have only intensified since then.

In June, mass mobile Internet shutdowns occurred across all of Russia, including in  Moscow, and increased by 10 times compared to May. While officially explained as necessary to “combat drones,” in practice, these restrictions force citizens to switch to urban Wi‑Fi networks, which local officials monitor. Some regions have even begun recommending the use of free public Wi‑Fi in train stations, shopping centers, and government service centers (The Moscow Times, July 16).

Such a transition significantly reduces digital privacy. All public Wi‑Fi networks in Russia require identification via a personal phone number or a state-controlled Gosuslugi account. Russian officials can even monitor IP addresses, Internet history, and search queries in real time through deep packet inspection devices built into routers from approved service providers (Mediazona, July 16). This effectively turns public Wi‑Fi into a tool of mass surveillance.

The adoption of the new law will affect various groups and industries (Novaya Gazeta Europe, July 16). New fines threaten ordinary Internet users who share their login credentials, phone numbers, or VPN access. Logistics companies and freight forwarders will face new obligations and hefty fines. Internet and VPN providers will be forced to strengthen web traffic monitoring to Moscow’s liking; failure to meet Roskomnadzor’s requirements may lead to hundreds of thousands of rubles in fines. Advertisers and platforms, furthermore, will need to remove VPN advertisements or risk significant penalties. Collectively, this means added costs and risks for information technology (IT) companies and digital businesses, a Russian industry that has already lost significant expertise and manpower due to heavy losses in Ukraine (see EDM, January 16, 2024, July 25).

The pattern of shutdowns has been uneven and difficult to predict. Some front-line and strategically important regions, such as Nizhny Novgorod, Tula, Omsk, and Rostov, experience disruptions almost daily (Fotanka.ru, July 6; Meduza, July 7). Omsk oblast recorded the most incidents, with severe mobile network issues observed nearly the entire month of June. Neighboring regions even differ in the frequency of outages. For example, in the Belgorod Oblast on the Russian-Ukrainian border, shutdowns occurred significantly less often than in the neighboring Kursk and Bryansk oblasts.

The mass shutdowns have sparked thousands of complaints and widespread public outcry. Russian citizens have reported problems with messengers, navigation apps, food delivery services, and access to government services (Fotanka.ru, July 6). Public transport experiences failures with attempts to pay fares digitally on a daily basis, and retail businesses have seen regular disruptions in digital transactions.  Experts estimate that in 2024, due to intentional shutdowns, Russia’s digital economy lost around $16 million. In 2025, this figure is increasing. According to some reports, shutting down one hour of mobile Internet can cost a regional economy over 750 million rubles ($9.4 million) (Novaya Gazeta Europa, July 22).

The Kremlin’s “sovereign Internet” system, which has been tested over the past few years, is now effectively being used as intended. Regional and local officials have moved to the widespread use of web traffic filtering technologies and base station shutdowns. In June, Internet traffic through foreign content delivery networks (e.g., Cloudflare) dropped by 30 percent. This was likely due to either directly blocking Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or shutting down networks that carried foreign, or in Moscow’s verbiage, “extremist” content (Kommersant, June 19).

Many observers point to the real threat these measures pose to Russians’ already waning information and digital freedoms (see EDM, July 24 [1], [2]). The amendments are reminiscent of the Belarusian scenario, where the gradual criminalization of consuming prohibited content is being legalized (see EDM, June 11). The list of “extremist materials” includes content not only from “undesirable” outlets and organizations but also from opposition figures, LGBTQ+ activists, and foreign journalists. The law’s wide purview and generalized language mean the Kremlin could be quite elastic in its application of the term “extremist.”

Supporters of the amendments, nevertheless, claim that penalties will apply only to “deliberate searching” and that ordinary users without malicious intent will not be targeted (Mediazona, July 16). Even so, the changes will stimulate even greater user monitoring, something the Kremlin seeks as it grows more paranoid with a frustrated population. Cooperation between Internet companies and law enforcement will increase, with search engines, Wi‑Fi networks, and browsers providing search histories to the Russian security services. Taken together, these measures create a model of digital surveillance reminiscent of Soviet times and reflect Moscow’s efforts to quell any domestic opposition and antiwar sentiments.