A new sociological study shows that more than half of Russians have never heard of the controversial “anti-terrorist” laws recently signed by Vladimir Putin. The “Yarovaya legislation,” or “Big-Brother” laws, grant the government sweeping new powers to combat terrorism and extremism. In addition to requiring telecommunications operators to store all telephone conversations and Internet correspondence and make the data accessible to police, the laws also ban most, if not all, forms of encryption.

According to a poll by the Levada Center, 62 percent of respondents had never heard of the laws, and just 10 percent said they were well informed about them. Of those surveyed who said they knew about the “anti-terrorist” laws, 41 percent opposed the legislation and 33 percent supported it.