MP on fines for VPN: 40% of Russians will be hit

The law on fines for searching for extremist content and using a VPN is still raw and needs to be substantially finalized, said Russian State Duma Deputy Yuri Afonin.

According to him, in its current form, this bill affects 40% of Russians who use funds to circumvent blockages for non-political purposes. Such a restriction of citizens' rights will not effectively combat extremist manifestations on the Internet, Afonin is sure.

"This law is very crude. It will not allow the fight against extremist manifestations on the Internet, but will only restrict citizens," said the first deputy chairman of the State Duma on security and anti—corruption on Sputnik radio.

As EADaily reported, earlier the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation approved fines for searching in Networks of prohibited extremist materials, including those using VPN services.