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Policy & Regulation

Russia Charges Teenager for Using VPN to Listen to Banned Song

A 19-year-old in Kurgan faces administrative charges for using a VPN to listen to a banned song, in a sign of Russia's intensifying crackdown on digital privacy.

AI News Feed · 2026-08-19 00:34

The teenager is being prosecuted under Article 13.53 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences, which penalizes searching the internet for "knowingly extremist materials." The regional directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) said the teenager "searched the internet for an audio track recognized as extremist and banned on the territory of the Russian Federation, and listened to it." He reportedly used a "special program that provides access to restricted information resources," a reference to VPNs that encrypt traffic and mask IP addresses.

If found guilty, the young man faces a fine of between 3,000 and 5,000 rubles.

The enforcement of Article 13.53, which took effect on September 1, 2025, has fostered a culture of fear among internet users. The first charge under the article was issued to a 20-year-old medical worker in Kamensk-Uralsky, whose defense said he accidentally came across content related to designated extremist military groups and immediately deleted it.

After the Kurgan teenager's arrest, local police publicly urged residents not to seek out or publish "prohibited information" online and advised against joining "informal associations and movements of an illegal nature."

The MVD said the offense was discovered "during operational and investigative measures by officers of the Center for Countering Extremism of the Regional Ministry of Internal Affairs." It remains unclear how authorities intercepted the teenager's internet activity while he was using a VPN.

The prosecution is part of a wider effort to restrict internet access in Russia. In recent months, authorities have blocked more than 20 popular VPN services, and nationwide outages have made it necessary for many Russians to use VPNs to access platforms including Google and Apple. The Kremlin recently adjusted some bureaucratic VPN fees, but the prosecution of a teenager for listening to a song demonstrates that the government's campaign against censorship circumvention has not eased.