Russia: Bill on prompt blocking of illegal content on Internet...

Russia: Bill on prompt blocking of illegal content on Internet drafted

Posted 2024-01-08 09:54:22

Russia’s Prosecutor-General's Office together with relevant agencies has drafted a bill on prompt blocking of illegal content on the Internet using a specialized information system, the press service of the supervisory reported

"The Prosecutor-General's Office together with the Ministry for Digital Technology, Communication and Mass Media of the Russian Federation and Roskomnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media) are currently involved in meticulous work aimed at improving the mechanism of combating the spread of illegal content on the Internet. They have jointly drafted a bill, which regulates a prompt solution on blocking malicious websites using a specialized information system," the press service said.

The Prosecutor-General's Office noted that it constantly monitors information on the Internet, messengers and social networks regarding illegal content. Last year only (as of December 25) the watchdog submitted over 2,000 requests on extrajudicial restraint of access to information on the Internet to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (1,699 requests in 2022).

Moreover, the Prosecutor-General's Office detects online services offering purchase of falsified documents or those containing information violating laws ‘On market of securities’, ‘On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation’, ‘On banks and banking activities’ (with suggestions of investments in securities or receiving credit services bypassing the existing legislation norms, including pyramid schemes). In 2023, the supervisory body submitted 306 requests on restricting access to 41,798 such online resources to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.

Some 70,000 websites with false reports on Russian Armed Forces, authorities blocked

Almost 70,000 websites containing false reports discrediting the actions of the Russian Armed Forces and Russia’s bodies of authority were blocked in 2023.

"Prosecutors thwart the spread of illegal information amid an unprecedented anti-Russia information campaign, with major foreign websites, information agencies and other media outlets involved," the press service said.

"The main goal of unfriendly states and their propaganda pundits is still to discredit the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in the special military operation and the country’s authorities on protecting the interests of citizens, maintaining global peace and security," the Prosecutor-General's Office added. Combatting this, the Prosecutor-General's Office submitted 555 requests to block false reports to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) in 2023. "More than 69,000 websites were deleted or blocked," the press service noted.

In 2022, those figures were higher as prosecutors submitted 853 requests to block such false reports to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, with 128,000 websites deleted. "Consequently, a decrease in the scale of disinformation being spread is evident," the Prosecutor-General's Office stressed.