Authorities reveal which sites will soon be blocked in Russia
The new measure is designed to quickly shut down sites selling restricted goods to minors.
Starting in March, Russia will begin blocking websites that sell tobacco and nicotine-containing products without a court order. This was announced by Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications.
«From March 1, 2026, the law on out-of-court blocking of websites with online sales of tobacco and nicotine-containing products comes into force. The state is consistently closing channels of remote trade in goods whose circulation is directly restricted by law, especially given that the internet remains one of the key sources of access for minors to such products», explained Nemkin.
He noted that blocking without a court order allows for a significant acceleration of the process, so that websites do not have time to change domains and cease operations more quickly.
The parliamentarian added that website and social media owners will also be required to independently monitor the content they host. In his opinion, this fosters a more responsible attitude among digital platforms toward compliance with the law.
«The adopted changes fit into a broader trend — strengthening control over the circulation of socially sensitive goods on the internet while simultaneously developing tools for digital identification and age verification. Such a comprehensive approach allows not just to prohibit, but to build clear rules of the game for businesses and platforms, making the digital space safer and more responsible for all its participants», concluded Nemkin in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
Earlier, the State Duma suggested that Telegram will be completely blocked under the same scheme as the video hosting site YouTube. Read more about when this will happen in the article.
