Russian lawmakers passed controversial legislation Thursday that would dramatically expand the government’s ability to punish internet users — not for sharing forbidden content but for simply looking it up.

The new measures, which sailed through the Russian parliament and will take effect in September, envision fining people who “deliberately searched for knowingly extremist materials” and gained access to them through means such as virtual private networks, or VPNs, which let users bypass government blocks.

VPNs are already widely used in Russia to circumvent the many blocks on websites.

Russia defines “extremist materials” as content officially added by a court to a government-maintained registry, a running list of about 5,500 entries, or content produced by “extremist organizations” ranging from “the LGBT movement” to al-Qaeda. The new law also covers materials that promote alleged Nazi ideology or incite extremist actions.

Until now, Russian law stopped short of punishing individuals for seeking information online; only creating or sharing such content is prohibited. The new amendments follow remarks by high-ranking officials that censorship is justified in wartime. Adoption of the measures would mark a significant tightening of Russia’s already restrictive digital laws.