Blocking sites and applications in Russia

Who and why blocks sites in Russia

As of May 2019, the list of "censors" and the reasons for blocking is regulated by the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection." Changes are constantly being made to it, so our list is relevant only at the time of publication.

As of May 2019

Since August 2019, the FSB structure has been added to this list - the National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents (NCCCI) (see below)

Regardless of who made the decision to block, Roskomnadzor is engaged in its implementation (except for the FSB initiative, which directly appeals to the domain registrar with a demand to separate it). Roskomnadzor enters the domain name, IP address of the site or the address of a specific page in its registry - "black list." All Russian Internet providers regularly upload data from this registry to their equipment. At the same time, the department is obliged to notify the domain administrator about the blocking. There are nuances of the procedure: if the Prosecutor General's Office blocks the information, then Roskomnadzor first blacklists the site, and the hosting provider notifies its owner of this within 24 hours. In other cases, the blocking procedure is different: first, Roskomnadzor sends a notification, then blocks it.

Blocking sites by Roskomnadzor

Main article: Blocking sites by Roskomnadzor

FSB can delete sites the fastest

On August 6, 2019, it became known that the National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents (NCCC) of the FSB was among the competent organizations of the Coordination Center for Domains.ru/.rf (CC RF). This will allow the FSB structure to block sites faster than the court and Roskomnadzor.

The new status allows NCCCA to contact domain registrars with complaints about violating sites in order to separate the domain name and actually close access to the Internet resource, the publication explains.

One of the FSB structures became one of the competent organizations of the Coordination Center for Domains.ru/.rf (CC RF), which actually gave it the opportunity to block sites faster than the court and Roskomnadzor

NCCC will be engaged in identifying phishing resources, sources of malicious software (software), tracking the activity of botnets and other attacks using Russian national domains, "Andrei Vorobyov, director of the RF CC, told Kommersant.

In addition to the NCCC, nine more structures are considered competent organizations of the CC of the Russian Federation. These include information security companies (Kaspersky Lab and Group-IB) and state regulators (Roskomnadzor and the Central Bank).

Domain separation differs from blocking sites through court decisions and Roskomnadzor and allows significantly faster restriction of access to the resource. At the same time, access to content on a divided domain is terminated in principle, it can become available only when linking a new domain name, therefore, such a measure is more effective than ordinary locks, says Sergey Grebennikov, director of the Regional Public Center for Internet Technologies.

According to Cisco security business consultant Alexei Lukatsky, although the legislation does not describe a measure to separate the domain of the violating site, it is provided for by an agreement with the registrar, which fits into the Russian legal field. 

Domain registrars receive a large number of complaints about dangerous sites, including phishing ones. They lack their own resources to combat such sites, so they are forced to attract competent delegates such as NCCC, Kaspersky Lab and Group-IB.^[1]

Individuals' Legal Action Block

2021: Russia passes law to block sites with false accusations without trial

On June 9, 2021, the State Duma adopted a law on blocking sites with false accusations without trial. We are talking about restricting access to an information resource on the Internet, "disseminating inaccurate information that denigrates the honor and dignity of a citizen or undermines his reputation and is associated with accusing this person of committing a crime."

According to legislative innovations, citizens will be able to apply to the prosecutor's office with a statement about taking measures to remove the specified information  and block it in the event of the resource owner's refusal to voluntarily remove material defaming the citizen. After receiving the requirement Prosecutor General's Office Roskomnadzor , takes the necessary measures to remove inaccurate information.

The State Duma introduced a mechanism for extrajudicial blocking of false accusations of committing crimes

Within a day after receiving a notification of the removal of defamatory information, a site "disseminating inaccurate information that defames the honor and dignity of a person or undermines his reputation and is associated with accusing a person of committing a crime" must delete the information, otherwise a pre-trial blocking awaits him.

According to TASS, the Russian Information Agency, the parliamentary opposition voted against the document (60 votes against), it was criticized by representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party and Fair Russia. In particular, the communist Alexei Kurinny expressed fears that the innovation will affect a very narrow number of people and will be applied extremely selectively. United Russia member Yevgeny Revenko, in turn, said that the initiative is not aimed at restricting freedom of speech on the Internet and is not timed to coincide with the election campaign.

We know of tens and thousands of cases where people are unreasonably accused of committing crimes. A person for months, or even years, given the overload of the judicial system, is trying to protect his honor and dignity, - said the deputy, calling the bill "an attack on the bacchanalia" on the Internet.[2]

2018: Blocking 126 sites hosting compromising information

By February 2018, the Ilyashev & Partners Law Office had obtained in the courts the blocking of 126 sites that post information that compromises their clients. This was told by the lawyer of the bureau Dmitry Konstantinov.

The blockages were carried out as part of three lawsuits filed by Ilyashev & Partners lawyers. Who were the clients of the bureau and which sites were blocked are not disclosed in Ilyashev and Partners.

Lawyers only say that there was no federal media among the blocked sites, but the so-called "yellow media" were subjected to it^[3]. It is known that earlier among the resources that post revealing materials, "Компромат.ру," Moscow Post, Crime Russia and other sites fell under the block.

The blocking technology is as follows. The affected party (individual) applies to the district court against the sites that posted incriminating information about him.

The court then rules on interim measures, according to which certain resources should be blocked. An important point is that the definition of interim measures may apply not only to those sites against which lawsuits are filed.

Persons against whom interim measures are imposed do not even have to be notified of the filing of a claim. But then, after making a determination on interim measures, these persons should be brought to the claim as defendants.

The decision on interim measures is usually made by the court within five to six days. It usually takes five to six months for the court to make a decision on the merits of the claim.

Chronology of events

2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law blocking sites with illegal migration services

In November 2024, the president Russia Vladimir Putin signed a law that introduces a procedure for extrajudicial blocking of Internet resources that provide illegal services to migrants and offer fake documents for registration of migration status. The corresponding document is posted on the official portal of legal information.

According to Interfax, this law expands the list of information, access to which on the Internet should be limited. The decision to block Internet resources by Roskomnadzor can be made by the Prosecutor General of Russia or his deputy when illegal content is found. Also, owners of social networks are obliged to monitor the posted materials and promptly restrict access to information regarding illegal migration services.

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Kremlin Website

The authors of this bill were a group of deputies from all factions State thoughts under the leadership of Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin. The purpose of the new law is to prevent the spread of illegal migration services and strengthen law and order in this area.

In addition to the law on blocking sites, Vladimir Putin also signed a number of additional legislative acts aimed at strengthening control in the migration sphere. In particular, a law was signed to toughen the punishment for organizing illegal migration. According to the new amendments, the punishment for organizing illegal entry and stay of foreign citizens in Russia now provides for imprisonment for a term of two to five years.

A law was also approved, which adds a new clause to Article 63 of the Criminal Code of Russia, providing that the commission of a crime by an illegal migrant is an aggravating circumstance. This innovation leads to tougher penalties for such violations.

In addition, the president signed a decree providing for the confiscation of funds and property in cases of organization of illegal migration, if the crime was committed out of selfish motives.^[4]

^[5]

The State Duma approved the blocking of sites by the decision of the president

On July 30, 2024, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law on blocking sites by the decision of the president. We are talking about restricting access to Internet resources in order to protect the constitutional system, morality, health, the rights and legitimate interests of others, ensuring the country's defense and state security.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the changes do not introduce individual criteria or restrictions for presidential bans. Roskomnadzor will block sites with information prohibited by the president, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office.

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Freepik

If under the current [mid-2024] legislation, the prohibition of the dissemination of information can be carried out only in accordance with federal laws, then according to the proposed - also according to the acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the publication says.

In addition, the adopted law "is aimed at countering the spread of destructive content in the form of trash streams in the information space." By them, the authors of the document mean "live broadcasts, during which acts are committed with cruelty, sadism, bullying, as well as torment for the victim in order to earn funds from donations and increase their audience." It is noted that such videos can collect millions of views, and streamers themselves often get on the front pages of the media and on federal TV channels. At the same time, the law says, the provided criminal and administrative liability do not have preventive significance, since, as a rule, the punishment for the act "is significantly lower than the effect obtained due to the popularity."

In accordance with the adopted law, trash streams are classified as information prohibited for distribution in Russia. The fact of conducting such broadcasts becomes an aggravating circumstance, as well as a qualifying feature under 10 articles of the Criminal Code. The administrative fine for the distribution of such materials will be for citizens from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles, for officials - from 100 thousand to 200 thousand, for legal entities - from 800 thousand to 1 million rubles. It is also possible to confiscate the equipment used to make trash streams.^[6]

Russia adopted a law on blocking sites selling prohibited dietary supplements without trial

State Duma Russia adopted a law providing for pre-trial blocking of Internet resources that trade in prohibited ones. biologically active additives (dietary supplements) This became known on July 9, 2024. The new regulatory act is aimed at strengthening control over the circulation of dietary supplements and protecting the health of citizens. More here

2023

In Russia, they will begin to prepare media centers

In Russia, for the first time, a training program was launched for media professionals who identify extremist and destructive materials on the Internet. This direction of undergraduate studies appeared in the RANEPA. The initiative is justified, since the volume of such content in social networks and instant messengers is constantly growing - only over the past six months there have been 16% more such materials. This was announced on November 9, 2023 by the press service of the State Duma deputy RFAnton Nemkin.

Learn more > >

167 VPN services and more than 200 mail services blocked in Russia

In Russia, 167 VPN services and more than 200 mail services are blocked. Such data at the end of October 2023 was published by the director of the Center for Monitoring and Management of the Public Communications Network (CMU SSOP) Sergey Khutortsev as part of his presentation at one of the forums dedicated to the regulation of the field of information and communication technologies.

According to Interfax"" with reference to Khutortsev's materials, as part of countering threats to the security and sustainability of Runet in Russia, more than 590 thousand information resources, over 2 thousand phishing sites, more than 84 applications and 20 distribution centers were also blocked or limited in the work. malware In addition, at least 17.5 thousand IP addresses are whitelisted and excluded from filtering.

Russia blocked 167 VPN services and more than 200 mail services

According to Sergei Khutortsev, TSMU SSOP has established close work with regulators in the field of information security to block malicious sites.

These are phishing resources, and resources that participate in information wars against the Russian Federation, and blocking bypass services, "he said.

Since August 2023, all communication nodes in Russia have been 100% equipped with means to counter threats based on TSPU equipment to filter user traffic from prohibited content.

According to the law "On Communications," the means of bypassing the blocking of illegal content are recognized as a threat. The Public Communications Network Monitoring and Management Center (CMU SSOP) is taking measures to restrict the operation of VPN services in Russia that violate Russian law, Roskomnadzor told various media outlets in response to a request regarding problems with users in Russia accessing various VPN services as part of the TSPU.

On October 24, 2023, the head of Roskomnadzor, Andrei Lipov, said that the regulator does not record massive problems with VPNs from companies that use them in their work, and those that arise are resolved within three hours.^[7]

Russia adopted a law on blocking sites sponsoring a military enemy

On October 18, 2023, the State Duma adopted in the third (final reading) a law on blocking sites sponsoring a military enemy. The procedure provides that if the relevant information is received, the Prosecutor General appeals to Roskomnadzor with a demand to block it.

The document proposes to take measures to restrict information resources containing a proposal to finance the enemy in conditions of armed conflict, hostilities, counter-terrorism operation or other actions using weapons and military equipment, in which the Russian Federation takes part, as well as information on possible ways to implement such financing.

The State Duma adopted in the third (final reading) law on blocking sites sponsoring a military enemy

The explanatory note notes that during the period of the special military operation carried out by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, numerous facts of the participation of foreign media platforms and organizations in disseminating information with proposals on financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine and on possible ways of implementing such financing have been established.

The law states that in the context of the intensification of the activities of NATO countries directed against the security of the Russian Federation, the dissemination of information on the Internet with a proposal to finance the enemy poses a threat to the security of Russia and requires urgent measures to restrict access to information resources disseminating such information.

As the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption Vasily Piskarev noted, the responsibility of financing the enemy in a military conflict by October 2023 may already entail responsibility in accordance with Art. 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("High treason").

It contains a ban on the provision of financial and material and technical assistance to a foreign state directed against the security of our country and provides for responsibility up to life imprisonment, Piskarev told reporters earlier (quoted by Interfax).[8]

The Ministry of Digital Development will ban sites in Russia with information on methods of bypassing locks

In early September 2023, it became known that Ministry of Digital Development Russia it had prepared a draft resolution banning sites with information about methods of bypassing locks.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the amendments were developed by the deputy from United Russia Anton Gorelkin. Amendments are made to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 26, 2012 No. 1101 "On a unified automated information system Unified register of domain names, site page pointers in the information and telecommunication network of the Internet and network addresses that allow identifying sites in the information and telecommunication network of the Internet containing information, the distribution of which is prohibited in the Russian Federation."

The essence of the amendments is that Roskomnadzor will be able to block sites with information about ways to bypass locks. In other owls, those network resources that host instructions for visiting sites already blocked in Russia will not be available. In July 2023, a similar initiative was approved by the State Duma Committee on Information Policy: amendments were made to the federal laws "On Communications" and "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection."

Since 2017, VPN services have been banned in Russia, which allow you to bypass Internet sites blocked in Russia. Gorelkin says that "a rule is being introduced prohibiting advertising ways to bypass locks - not VPN services." At the same time, other changes to the current legislation are provided.

These are new rules for the work of government agencies with hosting providers (the refusal of the services of foreign companies is spelled out) and requirements for owners of news aggregators by analogy with requirements for owners of classifies (more than 50% of Russian control in the management structure), says Gorelkin.[9]

Roszdravnadzor blocked almost 1,200 sites where abortion drugs were sold

At the end of July 2023 Roszdravnadzor , he presented statistics, according to which, as a result of monitoring due to the presence of proposals for retail to trade drugs intended for medical termination of pregnancy, 1,181 sites were blocked. More. here

In the DPR block Google and Zoom

In mid-February 2023, it became known about the blocking of Google and Zoom services in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). There are also problems in the region with downloading images and videos via Viber.

According to Vedomosti, in October 2022, the DPR Ministry of Communications sent a letter to local operators with an order to block Google, Viber and Zoom, as well as to "degrade" (slow down traffic) YouTube. Locks should be carried out at the level of the main operator (in the DPR it is "Ugletelecom").

In mid-February 2023, it became known about the blocking of Google and Zoom services in the Donetsk People's Republic

They began to fulfill the requirements only in February 2023, the newspaper's interlocutors said. One of them said that third-party services dependent on Google began to malfunction - in particular, subscribers with electronics Android based on (owned by Google) had problems.

Google has a large range of IP addresses, and the company randomly uses them in different services, so they periodically fall off, "he explained.

A representative of Roskomnadzor told the publication that the department "has no information about the mentioned letter to telecom operators operating in the territory of the new Russian regions." According to him, military-civil administrations regularly check the effectiveness of restricting access by telecom operators to resources that violate Russian law.

The publication reminds that the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin wrote about the need to block Google services back in the summer of 2022 in his Telegram channel. According to Pushilin, Google is the main platform responsible for "bullying Russians" and disinformation on the Internet. The day before, a similar statement was made by the acting head of the LPR Leonid Pasechnik. He said that "a flurry of fakes and disinformation" fell on the republic from Ukraine^[10]

2022

The number of blocked drug sites in Russia has tripled in two years

In 2022, 78,812 Internet materials with information related to the methods of manufacture, use and trafficking of drugs and other psychotropic substances were removed or blocked in Russia. Vedomosti wrote about this on December 25, 2022, citing data from Roskomnadzor. Read more here.

Mishustin introduced LGBT propaganda to the list of content subject to blocking on the Internet

On December 26, 2022, a government decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was published, by which LGBT propaganda was included in the list of content that is blocked on the Internet. Read more here.

Rosselkhoznadzor received the right to enter into the register of prohibited resources sites selling prohibited veterinary drugs

In August 2022, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree giving the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) the right to enter sites in the register of prohibited resources. Read more here.

The Ministry of Digital Development creates a pre-trial blocking system for fraudulent sites

On August 11, 2022, it became known about the decision, Ministry of Digital Development communications and mass media RUSSIAN FEDERATION to block fraudulent resources disguised as official sites without a court ruling. To do this, the department will expand interaction with the Prosecutor General's Office within the framework of the Antifishing information system. More here

Yandex removed the sites of Instagram, Facebook and publications blocked in Russia from the search

On April 18, 2022, Yandex announced the removal of official Instagram and Facebook sites from search results (banned in Russia; belong to Meta, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation). VK did the same. Read more here.

2021

Roszdravnadzor received the right to block sites where fake certificates are sold

In November 2021, it became known about granting Roszdravnadzor the right to block sites where fake medical certificates are sold without court permission. The corresponding amendments are posted on the portal of draft legal acts. Read more here.

Central Bank of the Russian Federation begins to block fraudulent sites without trial

November 11, 2021 Roskomnadzor announced that from December 1 Central Bank of the Russian Federation it will begin to block fraudulent sites in the financial sector out of court. Previously, the procedure for stopping the work of resources that contain information of a fraudulent nature lasted several months, and now the period will be reduced to several days.

The Central Bank will be able to initiate restrictions on access to fraudulent sites that mislead users due to the similarity of domain names, registration or content with these financial organizations, with the provision of financial services on Russian territory by persons who do not have the right to provide them , as well as to sites associated with financial pyramids.

Fraudulent sites will be blocked at the initiative of the Bank of Russia

The Central Bank will also be able to apply to the court  to restrict access to sites that disseminate information about illegal access to the information systems of credit institutions or non-bank financial institutions. Consideration of cases   on blocking the sites of fraudsters will take place in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses.

It is established that the decision to block is made by the Prosecutor General or his deputy on the basis of an appeal from the head of the regulator or his deputy.

According to Igor Ashmanov, managing partner of Ashmanov & Partners, the operational blocking of malicious sites will help protect gullible Russians from fraudsters' tricks. When the Central Bank begins to block access to sites that are clearly similar to fraudulent sites without a court sanction, it scoonomizes the finances of a number of Russians. On the other hand, there are risks that can be blocked by mistake or become part of the fight to eliminate competitors, he said.

According to Roskomnadzor on November 11, 2021, by this day since 2014, the department has blocked or deleted almost 6.5 thousand fraudulent sites. 65% of such sites are closed by court order and 35% at the request of the General Prosecutor's Office.^[11]

Blocking VPN in Russia turned into problems for legal services

After Roskomnadzor he began to actively block - VPN services, users encountered problems accessing, Avito World of Tanks and World of WarShips games, Twitch and. BitTorrent Writes about this "" in the Kommersant issue of September 9, 2021. More. here

Putin signed a law blocking the sites of financial pyramids

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law blocking the sites of financial pyramids. The corresponding document on July 1, 2021 appeared on the official portal of legal information.

According to the law, the Bank of Russia will be able to initiate restrictions on access to fraudulent sites of illegal credit institutions and financial pyramids, as well as phishing information resources.

Vladimir Putin signed a law on blocking the sites of financial pyramids

According to the deputy chairman of the Bank of Russia German Zubarev, the adopted law will reduce the loss of citizens from the actions of online fraudsters. Criminals manage to deceive many people before access to the fraudulent site is closed, this practice, in particular, is characteristic of financial pyramids. The adoption of the law will change the situation, he said.

According to the head of the Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Alexander Khinshtein, the law is aimed at solving an important problem - to combat the so-called phishing sites advertising unscrupulous, unreliable financial services and various pyramids.

This procedure that exists today allows you to carry out such court decisions and block sites as soon as possible, within a few days. This bill will allow a huge number of our citizens to avoid abuse, fraud and keep their money intact, he said.

According to the Central Bank, online scammers especially intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, as citizens preferred to receive services and services mainly in a remote format. In the first quarter of 2021, 124 illegal forex dealers, 85 financial pyramids and 144 illegal lenders were identified. In general, about 45% of illegal participants in the financial market and financial pyramids operate on the Internet.^[12]

Central Bank received the right to block fraudulent sites without trial

On June 17, 2021, the State Duma in the third (final) reading adopted a bill on extrajudicial blocking of fraudulent sites. We are talking about resources that advertise financial pyramids, mislead clients of credit or non-bank financial institutions with the similarity of domain names, registration or content, offer financial services that they have no right to provide.

According to RIA Novosti, citing a document approved by the State Duma, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is empowered to decide on the inclusion of fraudulent sites in the unified register of domain names and network addresses containing prohibited information for their subsequent possible blocking.

Central Bank of Russia received the right to block fraudulent sites without trial

Having identified a fraudulent resource, the Central Bank will also have the right to apply to the court with a statement to block illegal information. Cases belonging to this category will be considered in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses.

The Chairman of the Central Bank and his deputies can also contact the General Prosecutor's Office, which, in turn, will take measures to pre-trial block the site with fraudulent information.

The document allowing the Bank of Russia to block the websites of financial fraudsters without trial was developed by a group of senators and deputies led by the chairmen of both houses of parliament - Vyacheslav Volodin and Valentina Matvienko. The law will come into force on December 1, 2021.

The head of the Association of Forex Dealers (AFD) Yevgeny Masharov supports the decision of the State Duma in empowering the Bank of Russia with the appropriate powers.

We believe that the legislative procedure for blocking sites will allow us to more quickly respond to the emergence of sites of pseudo-financial companies and thereby reduce the number of negative examples in the history of the financial market, and accordingly, the degree of protection of property rights of our citizens will increase. The adoption of this law will de jure settle the established mechanism of extrajudicial blocking of the sites of such organizations, he said.[13]

Prosecutors are getting closer to getting the right to vne­sudeb­noye og­ra­niche­niye dos­tu­pa to say­tam

In June, 2021 in the second reading the bill of a possibility of extrajudicial restriction of access to the websites which extend the unreliable information connected with charge of crimes is adopted. This bill assumes assignment of powers for cases of insult on the Internet on administrative authorities,^[14] restriction of access to the websites.

Bill No. 1113081-7 supplements the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" with a new article, which provides for the pre-trial blocking of Internet resources that disseminate inaccurate information that defames honor and dignity or undermines reputation and is associated with the accusation of a person in the commission of a crime.

According to the text of the document, prosecutors of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will check the accusations on the Web for validity. The check is given 10 days from the date of application. Further, the prosecutor's office must send the conclusion for consideration to the Prosecutor General of Russia or his deputy. They must check the validity of the claims within five days. If there is a violation, according to the Prosecutor General or his deputy, then they will be obliged to contact Roskomnadzor with a demand to delete the information.

The explanatory note says that the basis for taking protection measures in accordance with the bill will be the submission by a citizen of an application to the prosecutor's office to take measures to remove inaccurate information that denigrates his honor and dignity or undermines his reputation and is associated with an accusation of a crime. The bill enshrines the requirements for the specified application, in particular, determines the list of information that must be reflected in the application, as well as the need to include documents confirming the unreliability of the posted information in such a statement.

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a law on extrajudicial blocking of "defaming information"

On March 24, 2021, the State Duma in the first reading adopted a bill on pre-trial blocking of pages on the Internet, which disseminate information defaming citizens and report on their commission of crimes.

Now only in court you can defend your rights, which does not fit with the speed of dissemination of information on the Internet. We propose an out-of-court procedure for restricting access to such resources, "Sergei Boyarsky, one of the authors of the bill, explained to the deputies (quoted by Kommersant).

Russia adopted a law on extrajudicial blocking of "defamatory information"

Amendments, in particular, are proposed to amend the current legislation, according to which, in case, when the person who disseminated the untrue information has expired, established for voluntary fulfillment of the requirement contained in the as-built document to delete the information available on the Web, defaming the honor, dignity or business reputation of a citizen or legal entity, did not remove them, the bailiff issues a decision to restrict access to such information.

A citizen who considers that his honor and dignity are defamed will first need to submit an application to the prosecutor's office. The data described there should be studied and checked for validity by the prosecutor's office within 10 days from the date of submission. Based on the results of the audit, a conclusion is drawn up on the existence of grounds for taking measures to remove inaccurate information or the user is notified of the absence of such grounds.

Then, within five days, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy checks the validity of the conclusion adopted by the prosecutor's office of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation. If confirmed, an appeal is sent to Roskomnadzor with a request to take measures to remove inaccurate information.^[15]

Extrajudicial Site Blocking Act Could Be Used to Pressure Opposition

The Just Russia faction opposes a legislative initiative that will not give anything to protect the rights of citizens, but will make it possible to shut up those who disagree with the ruling party, socialist leader Sergei Mironov said in March 2021.

Earlier, the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications recommended the adoption of the bill in the first reading. The document provides for a pre-trial blocking mechanism at the request of citizens of sites that disseminate "inaccurate information that denigrates the honor and dignity of a person or undermines his reputation and is associated with accusing a person of committing a crime."

"This bill from the series" well-intentioned road is clear where. " Of course, if a person is accused of a criminal offense and lies at the same time, then it is necessary to punish. But we understand what will happen in practice if this norm passes. As soon as we say some word, we will publish, they will immediately grab us and let us down under this article, "said Sergei Mironov.

He recalled that for several years in Russia, the practice of removing false information and blocking resources by a court decision has been successfully used. In addition, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation has the appropriate blocking powers before the trial in some cases.

"This law will not give anything to protect respectable citizens, but will be used against the opposition. What decision do you think will be made if a member of United Russia is slandered, and what if a member of the opposition party? Unfortunately, I have reasonable concerns about how this rule on extrajudicial killings can be used during the election campaign, "added Sergei Mironov.

The authorities came up with a new reason to block sites without trial

In Russia, they may begin to block sites at the request of Russians to post false information about their crimes on it. A court decision is not required for this - a prosecutor's check will be enough. The bill on a new measure to combat slander on the Web was submitted to the State Duma by Sergei Boyarsky, the author of the law on sanctions against foreign sites^[16] to^[17].

A group of deputies submitted to the State Duma a bill that allows blocking websites without trial. The document proposes to restrict in this way access to resources that disseminate inaccurate information about Russians related to the unjustified accusation of their crime. In other words, we are talking about libel on the Internet.

The bill entitled "On Amending the Federal Law" On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection "" was submitted to the State Duma on February 16, 2021. At the time of publication of the material, the date of its consideration in the first reading was not established. The authors of the document are First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Sergei Boyarsky (son of a famous artist, United Russia), member of the Committee on Regulations Andrei Alshevskikh (United Russia), head of the Committee on Nationalities Valery Gazzaev (former football coach, Fair Russia) and member of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues Igor Stankevich (United Russia).

Sergei Boyarsky, writes TASS, explained that the bill was developed in order to protect Russians from slander and unfounded accusations of committing certain crimes. "The Criminal Code from December 2020 provides for responsibility for the spread of slander on the Internet. But the reality is that the trial may drag on, and the unjustified, unfair stigma of the offender will remain with an innocent person almost forever. And most importantly, the responsibility of the slanderer does not always mean refuting the accusations, "the deputy said.

2020

The Ministry of Digital Development decided to ban Internet protocols that interfere with site blocking

In September 2020, it became known about the decision Ministry of Digital Development to ban the use Russia of request protocols enciphering DNS under the threat of blocking sites. More. here

Roszdravnadzor approved criteria for blocking sites selling drugs

On September 8, 2020, the Federal Service for Supervision of Healthcare (Roszdravnadzor) approved the criteria for blocking medical sites. The relevant order of department registered the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. The document indicates nine criteria that may cause restrictions on access to the resource. Read more here.

In Russia, hosting will pay millions of fines for prohibited content

In Russian legislation, in the near future, a norm of administrative responsibility may appear for hosting providers for storing prohibited content. The amount of fines and the timing of the introduction of the bill to the State Duma will be known after the official withdrawal of the Government, Russia reported in the summer of 2020 TASS Information Agency of Russia , citing a statement Alexandra Khinshtein by the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy^[18]

The document provides for the addition of Art. 13.41 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) of Russia with penalties for hosting providers for inaction in relation to illegal content - such as child pornography, drug propaganda or terrorist appeals. The document has already received support from the Russian Government Commission on Legislative Activities.

Currently, the administrative responsibility of hosting providers for non-removal of illegal content is not provided for by the current legislation, but in part 2 of Art. 13.40 of the Administrative Code of Russia provides for the liability of search engines operators for search results of prohibited information.

The new bill also proposes to empower Roskomnadzor to initiate cases of an administrative offense against search engines operators who do not act to exclude resources prohibited in Russia from issuing when re-applying.

"Those who do not remove prohibited content according to the requirements of Roskomnadzor (child pornography, drug propaganda, terrorist appeals) will be fined," Hinstein said.

Opinion of the Government

Within the framework of the new bill, it is proposed to introduce responsibility for "failure by a hosting provider or other person providing placement in an information and telecommunication network, including the Internet, an information resource, measures to restrict access to information, an information resource, a site on the Internet" if the obligation to take such measures is provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, "TASS quotes the text of the document.

The Russian Government Commission on Legislative Activities approved the document, subject to revision on the submitted comments for the second reading in the State Duma. Until now, liability for violation of the above requirements is not provided, in connection with which "there was a need for additional legal regulation," the draft recall says.

In particular, the government commission drew attention to the conflict in the issue of determining the subject of administrative jurisdiction. To do this, it is recommended to make additional amendments to the Administrative Code of Russia. In addition, the recall also contains comments on the proposed powers of Roskomnadzor.

"Empowering officials of Roskomnadzor with authority in terms of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses may require additional allocation of funds from the federal budget. Meanwhile, the requirements of Article 83 of the Budget Code of the Russian Federation ("The principle of targeting and the targeted nature of budget funds") are not taken into account by the bill, "the Government said in its response to the bill.

According to the requirements of the current legislation, the amount of fines for the first violation for legal entities is 500-700 thousand rubles, for a repeated violation - 1.5-5 million rubles, while responsibility is assigned only to search engines, "sites/resources do not affect this norm," Khinshtein explained the scope of the bill.

The current legislation also imposes responsibility for failure to restrict access to prohibited information on telecom operators providing communication services to hosting providers. Administrative fines provided for in accordance with the current article 13.34 of the Administrative Code amount to 3-5 thousand rubles. for officials and 50-100 thousand rubles. for legal entities.

2019

The Central Bank will begin to block the sites of pyramids and fraudulent financial organizations in the fall

This was reported in August 2019 by the authors of the bill securing such a right for the regulator - the heads of the relevant committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council Anatoly Aksakov and Nikolai ^[19].

Soon, the Bank of Russia will have the right to close the sites of illegal financial organizations before the court. The regulator expects the final adoption of the relevant bill, approved in the first reading back in January 2019 and received a positive government review, in the autumn session.

As a result, the Central Bank will be able to directly send an application to restrict the work of online resources to Roskomnadzor and will receive the authority to file a lawsuit against the site for violation of "the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of an indefinite circle of persons."

A. Aksakov said that the draft proposed that the decision to block be "solely made by the chairman of the Central Bank" and it was carried out immediately, since it is necessary to act "quickly and decisively" against the attackers.

Today, to block the site of a fraudulent financial organization, the Central Bank must apply to the prosecutor's office, and that, in turn, to the court. In case of a positive decision, Roskomnadzor enters a resource into the register of prohibited ones and orders Internet providers to restrict access to it.

As two participants in the financial market and a source close to the Central Bank said, the bill raised objections. The Ministry of Internal Affairs fears that the expansion of the powers of the regulator will prevent it from carrying out operational-search measures, and in the future will take part of the powers of law enforcement agencies. The Ministry of Communications allegedly opposed the increase in the load on Roskomnadzor, and also negatively relate to the need to share their powers to control the Internet.

The Russian government has developed criteria for blocking sites

On August 16, 2019, it became known that the government had developed assessment criteria according to which various departments will make decisions on classifying sites as prohibited in Russia. The criteria will be approved by a joint order of Roskomnadzor, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rospotrebnadzor, the Federal Tax Service, Rosalkogolregulirovanie and Rosmolodezh. It is for these departments that these norms are being developed.

As of August 16, 2019, the document is on public discussion, which will last until August 29, 2019.

In particular, the document defines the criteria for assessing child pornography. The prohibited materials include the image of children in the process of real or staged sexual actions, as well as the image of their genitals for sexual purposes.

The ban includes information on the production, distribution, acquisition and storage of child pornography. Also prohibited is information about attracting children to participate in entertainment events of a pornographic nature, if there are contacts of the organizers. This includes any ads, posters, articles, audio and videos. In addition, prohibited information includes information aimed at arousing sexual feelings towards children or justifying sexual behavior towards children.

The document also contains criteria for assessing information on drugs, psychotropic substances and potentially dangerous psychoactive substances. Information will be prohibited if it describes the manufacture or use of such substances, "except for works of historical, scientific, artistic and cultural value to society."

Instructions on how to grow narcotic plants, cultivate them, increase yields, as well as information on places of cultivation and wild growth, including instructions on how to get there, are also subject to prohibition. It also prohibits information about how to evade responsibility for drug offenses and information about where, how and at what price they can be bought. In addition, information that encourages or arouses interest in the manufacture, use and distribution of drugs, as well as forming a positive image of persons who are engaged in this, will be prohibited.

Information about how to commit suicide is also prohibited, as are calls for it. In particular, it is forbidden to describe suicide by any means, including text, images, audio and videos. You cannot specify a suitable place and time for this.

A call to commit suicide is considered information where there is an appropriate proposal, request, order - all this is also prohibited.

The ban includes offers to take part in a gambling game or lottery, including text, images, etc. It is also forbidden to describe by any means the terms and conditions of the game or lottery, describe the methods of transferring funds and demonstrate participation.

The ban includes all resources where you can take part in a gambling or lottery, transfer funds or receive a win, as well as sites where there are ads indicating such resources, information or software to access them, as well as the ability to download software for direct participation.

According to the document, information about places of purchase, prices and methods of obtaining alcohol, if the sale is carried out remotely, falls under the ban. Shipping offers and guidelines for choosing a method, means and place of delivery are prohibited. Information on how to purchase alcohol on prepayment is also prohibited.

If the seller of alcohol informs on the Internet about the possibility of purchasing his products, the site must provide information about the seller, including the name, TIN and location of the physical store, even if the retail sale of his product does not need a license. If a license is needed, the license number is also indicated. If this is a farmer or individual entrepreneur who produces wine, you need to indicate where the production is located. Without all this, the resource will be banned.

The ban also applies to sites where you can choose alcohol that requires or does not require a license, and place an order for it with the ability to transfer goods outside the store, or buy without familiarizing yourself with the product in the store.

The criteria prohibit the dissemination of information about the methods, methods and intention to commit offenses against life and health with the participation of minors, including the use of weapons, explosives, in schools and places intended for mass stays of children.

It is impossible to disseminate information about the methods and intentions of humiliating the honor and dignity of children, extortion in schools, beating, participation in mass fights, driving on footboards and roofs of wagons, achieving intoxication as a result of inhalation of non-prohibited chemical compounds. Calls for all these actions, any depiction of them, popularization, justification, positive assessment and heroization are also prohibited.

Also prohibited information justifying violence and cruelty to people and animals, or popularizing criminal communities, glorifying their activities^[20].

Rosmolodezh and FSSP received the right to block sites

In April 2019, Rosmolodezh and the Federal Bailiff Service were added to the number of "Internet censors."

2016: Pre-trial blocking of GolosIslama.com for reprinting material from the BBC Russian Service

The main problem for the Internet media in Russia is pre-trial blocking. The editors discover the lack of access to the pages of their media, begin to frantically find out what happened.

At the beginning of 2016, several articles appeared on the GolosIslama.com website on topical socio-political topics: the war in Syria, the life of Russian immigrants in Turkey, and attitudes towards Russia abroad. The materials were widely discussed by users of the site. Among the comments was a provocative recording calling for "an armed struggle against the enemy."

In early February 2016, the owner of the resource Dmitry Chernomorchenko suddenly found out that the site blocked in Russia. He sent letters demanding to explain the reason for blocking the hosting company, the Prosecutor General's Office and Roskomnadzor, but did not receive an answer on the merits.

In May, Dmitry, with the support of the Center for the Protection of Media Rights, went to court. The reason for the blocking was revealed. It turned out that the Prosecutor General's Office appealed to Roskomnadzor with a demand to restrict access to the site's materials not only because of the comment, but also because of the publications themselves. One of them was reprinted from the website of the BBC Russian Service - its original is still in the public domain, no claims were made against it. Roskomnadzor blocked the site, but did not send a notification to its owner. At the trial, a representative of the department explained this by a "technical failure."

To unblock the site, Dmitry was forced to delete publications, although, as he emphasizes, he categorically disagrees with their designation as extremist. Access to the resource was restored by most providers in early July 2016. And the country's largest telecom operator Rostelecom, for some unknown reason, unblocked the site only in November. Later, the website owner's complaint was sent to the ECHR.

What to do if your site is blocked. Instruction

First, decide whether you agree with Roskomnadzor. If you think that the information really violates Russian law, then it can be edited or deleted. You have a day for this. After that, you need to inform Roskomnadzor that you have fulfilled his requirements. Even if you have been blocked during this time, access to the resource must be restored.

But if you think the claim is unfounded, go to court. In it, you can challenge the decision to declare information prohibited for distribution. However, in this case, you must understand that the trial will take a long time and its result is not obvious. And if you are blocked not one page, but the entire site, this will lead to bad consequences for your project^[21]

If the site was blocked without notification, first of all you need to find out the reason for the blocking.

OPTION 1. You can try to find out the reason yourself. On the website of Roskomnadzor there are several registers of blocked resources - for various violations. You need to check all the registries. If your site is found in any of them, you will find there the name of the court or department that made the blocking decision and the date of this decision. The solution itself is not placed in the registry, but sometimes a link is published to the page where the information that caused the blocking is contained. Then you can delete it and inform Roskomnadzor about it so that it returns access to your site. Or, if they disagree, appeal the blocking in court.

OPTION 2. You were unable to find out the reason for the lock yourself. Then you need to make a request to Roskomnadzor. The department should report which publication caused the claims. What to do next - you already know.

Did Roskomnadzor ignore your request? Or after deleting controversial information, your site remains unavailable? Then there is only one possibility - to go to court.

Unfortunately, the mechanisms prescribed in laws and by-laws do not always work. Since 2012, the sites "Каспаров.ру," "Daily Magazine" and "Грани.ру" have been blocked in Russia. All these years, their owners through the courts tried to find out why they were specifically blacklisted.

It turned out that the owners of blocked resources fell into a vicious circle. They argued that they were ready to remove illegal content. But neither the Prosecutor General's Office nor Roskomnadzor provided information about specific pages with illegal information. And the courts? The courts said they could not unblock the resources because their owners did not provide evidence that they had deleted the prohibited information. Complaints about the decisions of Russian courts are already being considered by the ECHR.

See also

• Rules for the work of the media in Russia

• Copyright on the Internet
• Internet censorship. World experience
• Censorship (control) on the Internet. China experience
• Censorship (control) on the Internet. Experience of Russia, Roskomnadzor, GRCC
• Runet Regulation Act
• VPN and privacy (anonymity, anonymizers)
• Autonomous Sovereign Internet in Russia
• SORM (System of operational-search measures)
• State System for Detection, Prevention and Elimination of Consequences of Computer Attacks (State system of detection, prevention and elimination of consequences of computer attacks)
• National Internet Traffic Filtering System (NaSFIT)
• Yastreb M Statistika of telephone conversations
• How to get around internet censorship at home and in the office: 5 easy ways
• Auditor - site blocking control system in Russia

Notes