A similar proposal was voiced in 2024.
The Moscow City Duma has prepared an initiative proposing the introduction of age classification for video games and the possibility of restricting access to online materials in cases where such labeling is used improperly. The relevant proposals have been drafted as amendments to federal laws regulating the circulation of information on the internet and the protection of minors from harmful content.
The project was presented on January 29 at parliamentary hearings dedicated to combating destructive information online. The speaker was Moscow City Duma Chairman Aleksei Shaposhnikov. The accompanying materials for the initiative note that the current tools for regulating internet content do not provide the necessary effectiveness in restricting access to potentially dangerous information. The same materials also cite statistics: in 2025, the number of internet users in Russia reached 133 million people, and the average time spent online is about 8.5 hours per day.
The document provides not only for mandatory age labeling, but also for the possibility of voluntary designation for information products to which such requirements do not apply under the law. According to Shaposhnikov, the proposed measures are aimed at strengthening the protection of children from content that may negatively affect their mental state, physical health, and moral development. He emphasized that teenagers spend a significant portion of their time on the internet, where far from all information is safe. If the initiative is approved by the capital's deputies, it will be submitted to the State Duma for consideration.
Earlier, in December 2024, senators and State Duma deputies had already raised a similar issue, proposing the introduction of mandatory labeling of video games at the federal level. In May 2025, the relevant State Duma committee supported the document in its first reading, but it did not receive any further progress. Industry representatives then criticized the initiative, considering it excessive, and pointed to the voluntary labeling pilot already in effect in the country.
