State Duma deputy Mikhail Romanov, who serves as the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Control Committee and is a member of the United Russia faction, highlighted the active support law enforcement receives from the initiative known as Protecting the Future. He described it as a strategic information and analytical system designed to monitor social networks for prohibited content that targets children, using linguistic and psychological indicators to identify potential threats.
Romanov explained that the Protecting the Future project functions as a screening and analysis engine. It helps authorities track harmful materials across major platforms and provides timely signals to investigators and prosecutors. The deputy emphasized that the project’s impact is measurable: the volume of prosecutor’s office petitions to prohibit distribution of specific information continues to rise, signaling a growing effectiveness in curbing child-targeted abuse and depredations online.
In a recent statement, he noted an instance from 2022 in St. Petersburg where depressive and self-harm content circulated among local users. Although the city’s share of detected content represented only a small fraction—roughly 2-3 percent of the total identified across the country—the case underscored the importance of targeted regional surveillance and the potential to replicate best practices from the citywide program across other regions.
Earlier, Romanov urged Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova to consider adopting St. Petersburg’s Protecting the Future experience at the national level. He asked the parliament to examine a proposal aimed at expanding the program so that more regions could benefit from its protective framework against destructive online content affecting minors.
As anticipation builds for the forthcoming government report on the welfare of children and families, Golikova plans to present the findings to the State Duma on October 18. In preparation, an expanded joint session involving the State Duma Control Committee, the Social Policy Committee, and the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Families, Women and Children convened with Golikova in attendance. The gathering underscored a shared commitment to safeguarding children online and assessing policy options for broader implementation of the Protecting the Future initiative.
During the discussions, Romanov urged Golikova to issue clear instructions to consider extending the Protecting the Future project to all regions of the Russian Federation. The goal is to create a cohesive national framework that can identify, assess, and neutralize online content that harms minors while supporting families in navigating digital environments more safely.