Moscow, October 27, 2025 – A pair of prominent Russian legislators have urged the national government to enact stricter age-verification measures for access to online adult material.
Yevgeny Masharov, serving on the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation’s Commission for the Public Review of Bills and Other Regulatory Acts, told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that exposure to 18+ content can lead to “distorted behaviour patterns” among minors. He proposed that websites hosting adult-rated content should require Russian users to undergo identity verification via a passport, driver’s licence or banking records prior to gaining access.
At the same time, Andrei Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, spoke to Gazeta.ru warning that online anonymity in Russia is poised for major change. He stated that within five years, all internet users will be assigned a specialised identifier that verifies age and other access rights.
While aligned with his colleagues’ broad goal of protecting young people, Anton Nemkin, another deputy on the same committee, emphasised the importance of implementation safeguards. He welcomed the age-verification initiative but stressed that it must be rolled out gradually, with robust data-protection measures in place and clear oversight of who handles user information, so as not to unduly burden law-abiding users and legitimate businesses.
The proposals reflect an increasing global trend toward mandating age-checks for adult sites with numerous jurisdictions already debating or instituting such legislation.
