Statement On Russian Bill To Create Internet ‘Blacklist’

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Statement On Russian Bill To Create Internet ‘Blacklist’

Access is extremely concerned over news that the Russian Parliament is considering a bill that would grant sweeping governmental powers to censor the Russian internet through the creation of a blacklist of sites and the establishment of a web-filtering regime.

Law No. 89417-6, heavily criticized by the Presidential Council for Human Rights, has until now mostly flown under the radar, and is just one of the many newly proposed bills which seek to quiet a growing chorus of protesters throughout the country.

“The creation of a website ‘blacklist’ looks like a power-grab by the government to exert greater control over its citizens, silence opposition, and win the ongoing political debate playing out on Russia’s internet,” said Brett Solomon, Executive Director of Access.

The bill presents a laundry list of potential reasons to censor, including content related to drugs, “extremist” views, and child pornography. While child pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation of minors is reprehensible, Access encourages States to deal with this issue by focusing their efforts on pursuing the perpetrators of these crimes. Instead of ineffectively blocking websites, States should focus their legislative and investigative efforts on punishing the creators and viewers of child pornography and supporting national legal infrastructure to deter this unlawful activity at its source.

“The filtering of websites for any reason is prone to unintended consequences, particularly misus, overblocking, and mission creep. The bill’s vague language could be used to justify Russia’s continued crackdown on free expression and human rights,” Solomon said. “The internet is too important an enabler of human rights to make it subject to hasty decisions by lawmakers who have not consulted the full range of stakeholders who will be affected.”

We support the actions by Wikipedia: Russia and LiveJournal and join them in demanding that members of the Russian Parliament withdraw their support for this bill. Further, we call on members of Parliament to accept the Presidential Council for Human Rights’ recommendation to allow for public input on any piece of legislation that would curb freedom of expression online and threaten the integrity of the global internet.

Access is an international NGO that promotes open access to the internet as a means to free, full and safe participation in society and the realization of human rights.

ENDS

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