Union wants bloggers fined for ads of Russia-hostile states’ goods

MOSCOW, Jul 3 (PRIME) -- Russian association of business patriotism development AVANTI has suggested fining bloggers up to 3 million rubles for advertisements of goods and services from the unfriendly countries, while repeated misbehavior will be punished with a foreign agent status, its letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Monday.

“Given the rise of impact of bloggers-influencers on the opinion and preferences of the Internet audience, including through demonstration of direct advertisements and product placement, please consider usefulness of a ban for bloggers to advertise goods and services from the unfriendly countries in the social networks, video hostings, and messengers,” AVANTI President Rakhman Yansukov said in the letter.

The responsibility for non-fulfilment of the rules should be comparable to advertisement of banned goods and amount to 500,000 to 3 million rubles, the association said.

In case of systematic violation, such bloggers should be put on the register of foreign agents.

AVANTI said that one of the main goals of the country in the current geopolitical conditions is to maintain economic independence.

(88.3844 rubles – U.S. $1)

End