Russian Economic Development Ministry drafts bill to extend existing content bans to video games

Russia’s Economic Development Ministry has prepared a new draft bill that, if passed, would prohibit the release of video games containing “information whose distribution is banned,” according to Kommersant. The bill has been sent to the necessary government agencies for review.

The bill proposes:

• requiring game developers and publishers to label content with age categories;
• banning developers from including “information whose distribution is banned in Russia” in game content;
• banning the release of games containing “content that violates legislation.”

The bill’s authors say the new legislation is necessary to “ensure the safety of computer game content for the health of citizens,” as well as to “prevent [people from] carrying out socially dangerous acts under the influence of game content.” The Economic Development Ministry has proposed that the bill come into effect on March 1, 2024.

According to Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, Russian law doesn’t currently regulate video game content.