Internet Censorship Faces Obstacles

Lurkmore.to

A screenshot of online encyclopedia Lurkmore's entry on President Vladimir Putin. The humor site's traffic reportedly jumped after it was added to a list of banned websites under a new Internet law.

As thenumber ofwebsites banned or blocked under thenew Internet law continues togrow, thecountry's media watchdog backpedaled Tuesday byacknowledging that censoring content was technically andlegally difficult, andit promised toremove popular sites fromthe blacklist.

TheMass Media Inspection Service said Tuesday that 41 out of180 websites identified as harmful had been blocked because their owners failed todelete material. Internet providers are asked toblock sites if owners fail toreact toa warning within three days, Maxim Ksenzov, deputy head ofthe service, told aState Duma meeting, Interfax reported.

Ksenzov admitted that blocking does not always work well because providers lacked thenecessary technical equipment. "This mechanism needs fine-tuning," Ksenzov was quoted as saying. He added that thesanctions were difficult toenforce when aRussian site owner chooses aforeign provider.

Thelaw, which came intoeffect onNov. 1, allows theMass Media Inspection Service toblock sites without acourt order if content is found topromote child pornography, suicide or drug use.

But critics say thelaw's implementation lacks transparency. Theblacklist is not publicly available andoperates solely via theZapret-info.gov.ru site, where users can anonymously submit information about harmful content. Affected site owners have complained that they were not warned andhave questioned theblacklist's rationale.

Thecountry's online community reacted with outrage Tuesday after it appeared that one ofthe biggest Russian-language file-sharing sites, Rutracker.org, had been blacklisted because users shared an"encyclopedia ofsuicide."

Earlier, Lurkmore, apopular humorous online encyclopedia, andthe "Librusek" online library were hit, thelatter apparently because it offered aRussian-language copy of"The Anarchist Cookbook," astep-by-step guide onhow tomake explosives written byU.S. author William Powell in1971.

TheMass Media Inspection Service said Tuesday that it had removed Lurkmore.to fromthe index after thesite officially told theservice that it had deleted illegal content.

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Internet Censorship Faces Obstacles