The Prosecutor General of Russia, Igor Krasnov, announced [in Russian] that Russia will take additional steps to limit the spread of misinformation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The placement of unreliable, socially significant information disseminated under the guise of reliable information, has been revealed, which pose a threat to […] public safety," Krasnov’s office said in a statement.
In March, the Russian Duma approved a bill to counteract the spread of fake news and implemented a fine for those convicted of disseminating misinformation online.
Although it has passed several laws to combat online misinformation, Russia has been accused of state-sponsored spreading of fake news. The Law Library of the Library of Congress has identified Russia as one of the principal culprits of spreading ‘fake news’ during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, noting that "media outlets such as Russia Today and the Sputnik Information Agency were implicated for producing and disseminating fake news through various social media and other channels."
No matter the source, confronting fake news and misinformation related to COVID-19 is a chief priority of the world’s policymakers.
Law
In march, Russia’s lower house, the State Duma, passed [in Russian] a bill that would fine individuals and companies for spreading "fake news."
The Duma defines fake news as "unreliable socially significant information distributed under the guise of authentic messages and posing a security risk." Russia’s Prosecutor General will be the one to determine whether the information in question falls into the category of "fake news."
The fines vary depending on whether the information was distributed by a private citizen (about USD $450 to $1500), an official, or a corporation (about $3000 to $7500). The fines increase for repeat offenders or if the "fake news" caused actual harm (to over $6000 for private citizens and $22,600 for corporations).
Chairman of the Committee on State Construction and Legislation, Pavel Krasheninnikov said that the bill is intended to be a preventative measure.
The bill was originally introduced last December. The upper house will still have to approve the bill, and it must be signed by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
(Published by Jurist Org, April 12, 2020)
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