MOSCOW, April 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on a law making the use of obscene language by media outlets punishable by fines, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The law sets fines of up to $6,300 for media outlets allowing the use of swearwords and fines of around $100 for individuals, with provisions for the confiscation of equipment.
The law, which also applies to Internet-only media, was previously approved by both houses of parliament.
The decision on what exactly constitutes a swearword or obscene language will be taken by linguistics experts, the Kremlin said.
A lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, Vladimir Ponevezhsky, said in January, after the bill had been approved in its first reading, that the law would protect children.
“Our children must be protected from the flow of coarse language that comes from the media,” he said.
But LDPR party lawmaker Sergei Ivanov said the law was unlikely to have its desired effect.
“Children do not learn coarse language from the media, they learn it on the streets,” he said.