As reported on 13 February 2023, Russia’s internet regulator Roskomnadzor implemented a new system to automate the search for content which authorities consider to be “extremist”, “fake” or “discrediting” the Russian army. The new system, named ‘Oculus’, was reportedly set in motion in January. Its aim, according to the semi-independent newspaper Vedomosti, is to track down images and videos containing “extremist topics, calls to join illegal mass events [including protests], [promoting] suicide, [promoting the use of] drugs”, as well as what Russian laws define as “LGBT propaganda”: “promoting” homosexuality in a positive or neutral context. ‘Oculus’ is reportedly capable of analyzing 200 thousand images and videos in 24 hours, as opposed to the approximately 100 images and 100 videos Roskomnadzor employees are capable of analyzing manually in a day of work, wrote the authors of the publication. A representative of Roskomnadzor added that the institution was investing in new surveillance techniques due to a rise in “forbidden” publications, including because of the war in Ukraine.
UPDATE: On 20 February, Vedomosti reported that Roskomnadzor was also testing a new system designed to detect potential “information bombs”, which the institution considers to create potential dangers for people, society and the state. Russian independent media claimed that this would likely include information on the war in Ukraine containing accusations of war crimes against Russian soldiers, which Russian authorities consider to be fake news. The new system would be named ‘Vepr’ (‘Boar’ in Russian). Roskomnadzor plans to start using the system in the second half of 2023.