How Russian legislature just made lives more difficult for Russian bloggers
On April 18, Russian legislature approved a law that would make any Russian website or a blog that gets at least 3,000 visitors a day a de facto equivalent of a media outlet, subject to the same regulations and restrictions as Russian non-state run media already is. Including requirement to verify information, not to post certain types personal information about private individuals, follow election campaign coverage rules, etc. Failure to abide by those rules carries steep fines (up to 30,000 rubles for private individuals and up to 300,000 for legal entities)
Gazeta.ru pointed out another wrinkle that moves this from 'burdensome and annoying" to "troubling." When a website or a blog is found to have large enough following to be treated as a media outlet, Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency responsible for regulating communications, media and information technology, will ask the user in question for personal information. Failure to respond in ten days also carries fines.
But wait - that's not all. Blogging platforms like Livejournal are now required to "store data about reception, transfer, delivery and transmission of voice data, written text, images, sounds and other electronic communications for the period of six months, and provide that information to Roskomnadzor upon request." That way, Rozkomnadzor will be able to retrieve even deleted comments and posts. The penalty? You guessed it - even steeper fines.
Now, to Livejournal users outside Russian Federation who might be popular enough to fall under that law - you have nothing to worry about. If you're not Russian citizen and don't live in Russian Federation, the law doesn't apply to you. If you are a Russian citizen who lives outside Russian Federation, the law still doesn't apply to you. The whole thing would have as much effect on you as Russian blog bans - none at all.
But as for the Russian bloggers...
Here's the thing. As my mom pointed out when discussing the "gay propaganda" law, Russian blogosphere is so large that Russian government can't possibly keep track of everything. But what they can do is target specific people. We've seen this with Russian blocks based on "extremist content" - they went after opposition figures, Russian-language online news outlets that aren't friendly to the regime, LJ communities of Ukrainian right-wing groups (and, to be fair, legitimately extremist stuff).
The statement by Vadim Den'gin - a Lib-Dem MP who co-authored the law (and whose Wikipedia entry, by the way, now calls him "enemy of free speech on Russian internet") - is rather telling
Nobody wants to control the Internet like they do in China. We understand that a blogger is a publicly significant individual, and he shapes public opinion. But it's important to follow the law even online.
Oh, and the Russian legislature also approved a law that raised the maximum penalty for organizing "mass riots" to 15 years, and to 10 years for just participating in said riots. This law, like the new blogging law, is part of the "anti-terrorism" package.
There is a bright side. At least the law toughening the penalties for taking part in unauthorized rallies didn't pass.
Gazeta.ru pointed out another wrinkle that moves this from 'burdensome and annoying" to "troubling." When a website or a blog is found to have large enough following to be treated as a media outlet, Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency responsible for regulating communications, media and information technology, will ask the user in question for personal information. Failure to respond in ten days also carries fines.
But wait - that's not all. Blogging platforms like Livejournal are now required to "store data about reception, transfer, delivery and transmission of voice data, written text, images, sounds and other electronic communications for the period of six months, and provide that information to Roskomnadzor upon request." That way, Rozkomnadzor will be able to retrieve even deleted comments and posts. The penalty? You guessed it - even steeper fines.
Now, to Livejournal users outside Russian Federation who might be popular enough to fall under that law - you have nothing to worry about. If you're not Russian citizen and don't live in Russian Federation, the law doesn't apply to you. If you are a Russian citizen who lives outside Russian Federation, the law still doesn't apply to you. The whole thing would have as much effect on you as Russian blog bans - none at all.
But as for the Russian bloggers...
Here's the thing. As my mom pointed out when discussing the "gay propaganda" law, Russian blogosphere is so large that Russian government can't possibly keep track of everything. But what they can do is target specific people. We've seen this with Russian blocks based on "extremist content" - they went after opposition figures, Russian-language online news outlets that aren't friendly to the regime, LJ communities of Ukrainian right-wing groups (and, to be fair, legitimately extremist stuff).
The statement by Vadim Den'gin - a Lib-Dem MP who co-authored the law (and whose Wikipedia entry, by the way, now calls him "enemy of free speech on Russian internet") - is rather telling
Nobody wants to control the Internet like they do in China. We understand that a blogger is a publicly significant individual, and he shapes public opinion. But it's important to follow the law even online.
Oh, and the Russian legislature also approved a law that raised the maximum penalty for organizing "mass riots" to 15 years, and to 10 years for just participating in said riots. This law, like the new blogging law, is part of the "anti-terrorism" package.
There is a bright side. At least the law toughening the penalties for taking part in unauthorized rallies didn't pass.