Viewers will not pay fines for watching films that discredit traditional values. In an interview with SHOT, the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Sergey Boyarsky, said that online platforms will be punished.
The deputy emphasized that this is actually a deliberate defamation of the Russian spiritual and moral values, and not only about films that do not conform to them. Otherwise, most local and foreign cinema may be subject to restrictions.
Ministry of Culture experts will decide whether the film violates the law. The reason for verification may be complaints from viewers about a specific movie or series, but the complaint itself does not mean that the content is considered prohibited. Only after an expert opinion can they be required to remove it from the platform.
According to Boyarski, there have been cases in the past when movies and TV series were removed from websites, and some projects were changed during production. He noted that fines are specifically imposed on platform owners who do not meet the requirements of the law: without punishment, the ban risks remaining a mere formality.
The fines bill itself has already been supported by the relevant State Duma committee.