Online Advertising: Business Risks and Compliance Obligations
Russian advertising legislation underwent significant changes in 2025. In particular, Government Decree No. 1087 of 24.07.2025 approved the criteria for classifying information distributed on certain online resources as advertising.
Information published on the Internet is considered advertising if it meets the legal definition of advertising in accordance with Federal Law No. 38-FZ “On Advertising” of 13.03.2006 and, at the same time, satisfies the following criteria:
- it attracts attention to a product, work or service, forms or maintains interest in it and promotes it on the market,
- it is not of a reference, informational or analytical nature,
- it is not an announcement unrelated to business activities.
These criteria apply to information posted on marketplaces and aggregator websites, in search engines and on social networks with a daily audience exceeding 500,000 users located in the Russian Federation.
If a publication is of an advertising nature, the associated expenses must be correctly classified as advertising costs and reflected in accounting records in compliance with tax legislation. Neutral information that does not pursue promotional goals (such as product catalogues, reference materials or reviews without elements of demand stimulation) is not considered advertising and is accounted for under different rules.
The obligation to label online advertising and transmit information through an advertising data operator is of direct importance for confirming the legitimacy of advertising expenses. The absence of proper labeling or an advertising identifier may result in such expenses being recognized as unjustified during audits, as well as lead to administrative penalties for violation of advertising placement rules.
If advertising is posted on pages with an audience exceeding 10,000 subscribers, such pages must be included in the Roskomnadzor register. From an accounting perspective, it is essential to ensure the correctness of contractual relations with such platforms and the accuracy of supporting documentation. At the same time, advertising may not be distributed on the information resources of foreign agents or on platforms of foreign and international organizations whose activities are recognized as undesirable in the Russian Federation.
If a company publishes information about its goods or services on its own social media page and such information qualifies as advertising under Federal Law No. 38-FZ “On Advertising” of 13.03.2006, the company is generally required to notify Roskomnadzor of such advertising.
Liability for non-compliance with advertising legislation is established by Parts 1, 15 and 16 of Article 14.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, which provide for significant fines for both legal entities and officials. In addition, violations of advertising legislation may also give rise to civil liability.
