The Russian 'Blogger Law'

    Just weeks after he disparaged the Internet as “a special C.I.A. project”, Valdimir Putin, borrowed a page from the restrictive Internet playbooks of many governments around the world that have been steadily smothering online freedoms few of them had once tolerated. The idea that the Internet was at best controlled anarchy and beyond any one nation’s control is fading globally amid determined attempts by more and more governments to tame the web. If innovations like Twitter were hailed as recently as the Arab uprisings as the new public square, governments like those in China, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and now Russia are making it clear that they can deploy their tanks on virtual squares, too.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law tightening the Russian government's already strong hold on the internet. Russia passed what's become known as the "bloggers law," which requires popular internet writers to follow rules normally reserved for larger media outlets. Under it, any blogger with more than 3,000 readers is required to register with the Roskomnadzor, Russia's media oversight agency.  

Just weeks after he disparaged the Internet as “a special C.I.A. project”, Valdimir Putin, borrowed a page from the restrictive Internet playbooks of many governments around the world that have been steadily smothering online freedoms few of them had once tolerated. The idea that the Internet was at best controlled anarchy and beyond any one nation’s control is fading globally amid determined attempts by more and more governments to tame the web. If innovations like Twitter were hailed as recently as the Arab uprisings as the new public square, governments like those in China, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and now Russia are making it clear that they can deploy their tanks on virtual squares, too.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law tightening the Russian government's already strong hold on the internet. Russia passed what's become known as the "bloggers law," which requires popular internet writers to follow rules normally reserved for larger media outlets. Under it, any blogger with more than 3,000 readers is required to register with the Roskomnadzor, Russia's media oversight agency. According to Reporters Without Borders, the law covers not only traditional blogs but micro blogs and social networks. In addition to following existing laws, writers will be responsible for fact-checking any information they post and removing any inaccurate comments, and they're forbidden from harming the reputation of a person or group or using their platform to "hide or falsify information of general interest."  Also bloggers are not allowed to remain anonymous anymore.

A senior official from Russian control agency Roskomnadzor says new restrictions would apply to all bloggers who write in Russian, even if they live abroad, adding that whole platforms can be blocked inside the country for refusal to cooperate.

The new law defines ‘popular bloggers’ as those having 3,000 or more visitors per day and demands that such people were registered under their real names and follow some basic rules similar to those mentioned in the Law on Mass Media – verify their reports and abstain from posting slander or anything that can be described as ethnic, religious or social hatred. The law will come into force on August 1, 2014.

However, the law has no provisions connected with the global and trans-border nature of blogs and the internet as a whole. The document does not specify if it applies to cases in which both the authors of blogs and the blog platforms are based outside Russia.
Deputy head of Roskomnadzor, Maksim Ksendzov said that this would not matter.
“The law is not tied to the territorial registration or passport data. If someone writes in Russian or any other language used by the peoples of the Russian Federation, if he or she is seeking to attract the Russian audience’s attention and if they use Russian sites for this, such people will have to observe the law,” the official said in an interview with popular daily Izvestia.

Critics of the law have complained that the law is specifically designed to stamp out growing political voices opposed to Putin and would give the Russian government the ability to easily decipher who was driving online conversation and take appropriate action against trouble makers.

Though such criticism is nothing new, Russia seems to have taken a step further and stepped up its ante within months of its show of strength in Ukraine.

The Kremlin recently blocked access to the websites of Russian dissidents and noted former chess champion, Garry Kasparov and Alexei Navalny because it claimed both sites asked Russian citizens to break the law. Kasparov, who after retiring from chess, has since become an advocate for democracy in Russia and even ran for president in 2007. Navalny had previously led demonstrations against Putin and has continued to oppose the government through his blog.

The law does not specify how the government will count site visitors. According to the New York Times, blogging platforms LiveJournal and Yandex have decided to halt their public traffic counters below the 3,000-visitor threshold, making it unclear how the government will prove those sites garner enough traffic to qualify as media outlets.

The law also does not make clear whether platforms primarily run outside Russia such as Google or Facebook will also have to store data on Russian soil if they want to continue operating in the country.

But leaving all this apart the biggest problem our counterparts in Russia will face is the loss of their right to let the world know of their views without revealing themselves. While it is true that the law might protect officials from slander and baseless accusations, the law does more harm them good. In the name of safeguarding private interest, the Russian Government found a way to keep an eye on all Government dissidents at once.

It is well known that not all writers write merely to gain popularity. There are those who use ‘pen names’ because of various reasons. A writer does have the right to publish their articles under any name they want and as long as they don’t break any existing laws, no new law should prevent him from expressing himself. It should also be noted that in case of default of this law by a blogger, they would be liable to be fined, with individual violators being fined between 10,000 to 30,000 rubles (roughly $280 to $850 at the current exchange rate), while "legal entities" will face fines of 300,000 rubles ($8,500).

While the Russian bear goes on a rampage across Europe and the Internet, it is aware of the small voices of dissent which is gaining momentum in its own backyard. It would do well to remember that not many countries have been very successful shutting down all forms of dissent through oppressive methods. Sometimes, ‘kind words and stick’ work better then the stick alone.    

Just weeks after he disparaged the Internet as “a special C.I.A. project”, Valdimir Putin, borrowed a page from the restrictive Internet playbooks of many governments around the world that have been steadily smothering online freedoms few of them had once tolerated. The idea that the Internet was at best controlled anarchy and beyond any one nation’s control is fading globally amid determined attempts by more and more governments to tame the web. If innovations like Twitter were hailed as recently as the Arab uprisings as the new public square, governments like those in China, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and now Russia are making it clear that they can deploy their tanks on virtual squares, too.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law tightening the Russian government's already strong hold on the internet. Russia passed what's become known as the "bloggers law," which requires popular internet writers to follow rules normally reserved for larger media outlets. Under it, any blogger with more than 3,000 readers is required to register with the Roskomnadzor, Russia's media oversight agency. According to Reporters Without Borders, the law covers not only traditional blogs but micro blogs and social networks. In addition to following existing laws, writers will be responsible for fact-checking any information they post and removing any inaccurate comments, and they're forbidden from harming the reputation of a person or group or using their platform to "hide or falsify information of general interest."  Also bloggers are not allowed to remain anonymous anymore.

A senior official from Russian control agency Roskomnadzor says new restrictions would apply to all bloggers who write in Russian, even if they live abroad, adding that whole platforms can be blocked inside the country for refusal to cooperate.

The new law defines ‘popular bloggers’ as those having 3,000 or more visitors per day and demands that such people were registered under their real names and follow some basic rules similar to those mentioned in the Law on Mass Media – verify their reports and abstain from posting slander or anything that can be described as ethnic, religious or social hatred. The law will come into force on August 1, 2014.

However, the law has no provisions connected with the global and trans-border nature of blogs and the internet as a whole. The document does not specify if it applies to cases in which both the authors of blogs and the blog platforms are based outside Russia.
Deputy head of Roskomnadzor, Maksim Ksendzov said that this would not matter.
“The law is not tied to the territorial registration or passport data. If someone writes in Russian or any other language used by the peoples of the Russian Federation, if he or she is seeking to attract the Russian audience’s attention and if they use Russian sites for this, such people will have to observe the law,” the official said in an interview with popular daily Izvestia.

Critics of the law have complained that the law is specifically designed to stamp out growing political voices opposed to Putin and would give the Russian government the ability to easily decipher who was driving online conversation and take appropriate action against trouble makers.

Though such criticism is nothing new, Russia seems to have taken a step further and stepped up its ante within months of its show of strength in Ukraine.

The Kremlin recently blocked access to the websites of Russian dissidents and noted former chess champion, Garry Kasparov and Alexei Navalny because it claimed both sites asked Russian citizens to break the law. Kasparov, who after retiring from chess, has since become an advocate for democracy in Russia and even ran for president in 2007. Navalny had previously led demonstrations against Putin and has continued to oppose the government through his blog.

The law does not specify how the government will count site visitors. According to the New York Times, blogging platforms LiveJournal and Yandex have decided to halt their public traffic counters below the 3,000-visitor threshold, making it unclear how the government will prove those sites garner enough traffic to qualify as media outlets.

The law also does not make clear whether platforms primarily run outside Russia such as Google or Facebook will also have to store data on Russian soil if they want to continue operating in the country.

But leaving all this apart the biggest problem our counterparts in Russia will face is the loss of their right to let the world know of their views without revealing themselves. While it is true that the law might protect officials from slander and baseless accusations, the law does more harm them good. In the name of safeguarding private interest, the Russian Government found a way to keep an eye on all Government dissidents at once.

It is well known that not all writers write merely to gain popularity. There are those who use ‘pen names’ because of various reasons. A writer does have the right to publish their articles under any name they want and as long as they don’t break any existing laws, no new law should prevent him from expressing himself. It should also be noted that in case of default of this law by a blogger, they would be liable to be fined, with individual violators being fined between 10,000 to 30,000 rubles (roughly $280 to $850 at the current exchange rate), while "legal entities" will face fines of 300,000 rubles ($8,500).

While the Russian bear goes on a rampage across Europe and the Internet, it is aware of the small voices of dissent which is gaining momentum in its own backyard. It would do well to remember that not many countries have been very successful shutting down all forms of dissent through oppressive methods. Sometimes, ‘kind words and stick’ work better then the stick alone.    

Just weeks after he disparaged the Internet as “a special C.I.A. project”, Valdimir Putin, borrowed a page from the restrictive Internet playbooks of many governments around the world that have been steadily smothering online freedoms few of them had once tolerated. The idea that the Internet was at best controlled anarchy and beyond any one nation’s control is fading globally amid determined attempts by more and more governments to tame the web. If innovations like Twitter were hailed as recently as the Arab uprisings as the new public square, governments like those in China, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and now Russia are making it clear that they can deploy their tanks on virtual squares, too.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law tightening the Russian government's already strong hold on the internet. Russia passed what's become known as the "bloggers law," which requires popular internet writers to follow rules normally reserved for larger media outlets. Under it, any blogger with more than 3,000 readers is required to register with the Roskomnadzor, Russia's media oversight agency. According to Reporters Without Borders, the law covers not only traditional blogs but micro blogs and social networks. In addition to following existing laws, writers will be responsible for fact-checking any information they post and removing any inaccurate comments, and they're forbidden from harming the reputation of a person or group or using their platform to "hide or falsify information of general interest."  Also bloggers are not allowed to remain anonymous anymore.

A senior official from Russian control agency Roskomnadzor says new restrictions would apply to all bloggers who write in Russian, even if they live abroad, adding that whole platforms can be blocked inside the country for refusal to cooperate.

The new law defines ‘popular bloggers’ as those having 3,000 or more visitors per day and demands that such people were registered under their real names and follow some basic rules similar to those mentioned in the Law on Mass Media – verify their reports and abstain from posting slander or anything that can be described as ethnic, religious or social hatred. The law will come into force on August 1, 2014.

However, the law has no provisions connected with the global and trans-border nature of blogs and the internet as a whole. The document does not specify if it applies to cases in which both the authors of blogs and the blog platforms are based outside Russia.
Deputy head of Roskomnadzor, Maksim Ksendzov said that this would not matter.
“The law is not tied to the territorial registration or passport data. If someone writes in Russian or any other language used by the peoples of the Russian Federation, if he or she is seeking to attract the Russian audience’s attention and if they use Russian sites for this, such people will have to observe the law,” the official said in an interview with popular daily Izvestia.

Critics of the law have complained that the law is specifically designed to stamp out growing political voices opposed to Putin and would give the Russian government the ability to easily decipher who was driving online conversation and take appropriate action against trouble makers.

Though such criticism is nothing new, Russia seems to have taken a step further and stepped up its ante within months of its show of strength in Ukraine.

The Kremlin recently blocked access to the websites of Russian dissidents and noted former chess champion, Garry Kasparov and Alexei Navalny because it claimed both sites asked Russian citizens to break the law. Kasparov, who after retiring from chess, has since become an advocate for democracy in Russia and even ran for president in 2007. Navalny had previously led demonstrations against Putin and has continued to oppose the government through his blog.

The law does not specify how the government will count site visitors. According to the New York Times, blogging platforms LiveJournal and Yandex have decided to halt their public traffic counters below the 3,000-visitor threshold, making it unclear how the government will prove those sites garner enough traffic to qualify as media outlets.

The law also does not make clear whether platforms primarily run outside Russia such as Google or Facebook will also have to store data on Russian soil if they want to continue operating in the country.

But leaving all this apart the biggest problem our counterparts in Russia will face is the loss of their right to let the world know of their views without revealing themselves. While it is true that the law might protect officials from slander and baseless accusations, the law does more harm them good. In the name of safeguarding private interest, the Russian Government found a way to keep an eye on all Government dissidents at once.

It is well known that not all writers write merely to gain popularity. There are those who use ‘pen names’ because of various reasons. A writer does have the right to publish their articles under any name they want and as long as they don’t break any existing laws, no new law should prevent him from expressing himself. It should also be noted that in case of default of this law by a blogger, they would be liable to be fined, with individual violators being fined between 10,000 to 30,000 rubles (roughly $280 to $850 at the current exchange rate), while "legal entities" will face fines of 300,000 rubles ($8,500).

While the Russian bear goes on a rampage across Europe and the Internet, it is aware of the small voices of dissent which is gaining momentum in its own backyard. It would do well to remember that not many countries have been very successful shutting down all forms of dissent through oppressive methods. Sometimes, ‘kind words and stick’ work better then the stick alone.    

Just weeks after he disparaged the Internet as “a special C.I.A. project”, Valdimir Putin, borrowed a page from the restrictive Internet playbooks of many governments around the world that have been steadily smothering online freedoms few of them had once tolerated. The idea that the Internet was at best controlled anarchy and beyond any one nation’s control is fading globally amid determined attempts by more and more governments to tame the web. If innovations like Twitter were hailed as recently as the Arab uprisings as the new public square, governments like those in China, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and now Russia are making it clear that they can deploy their tanks on virtual squares, too.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law tightening the Russian government's already strong hold on the internet. Russia passed what's become known as the "bloggers law," which requires popular internet writers to follow rules normally reserved for larger media outlets. Under it, any blogger with more than 3,000 readers is required to register with the Roskomnadzor, Russia's media oversight agency. According to Reporters Without Borders, the law covers not only traditional blogs but micro blogs and social networks. In addition to following existing laws, writers will be responsible for fact-checking any information they post and removing any inaccurate comments, and they're forbidden from harming the reputation of a person or group or using their platform to "hide or falsify information of general interest."  Also bloggers are not allowed to remain anonymous anymore.

A senior official from Russian control agency Roskomnadzor says new restrictions would apply to all bloggers who write in Russian, even if they live abroad, adding that whole platforms can be blocked inside the country for refusal to cooperate.

The new law defines ‘popular bloggers’ as those having 3,000 or more visitors per day and demands that such people were registered under their real names and follow some basic rules similar to those mentioned in the Law on Mass Media – verify their reports and abstain from posting slander or anything that can be described as ethnic, religious or social hatred. The law will come into force on August 1, 2014.

However, the law has no provisions connected with the global and trans-border nature of blogs and the internet as a whole. The document does not specify if it applies to cases in which both the authors of blogs and the blog platforms are based outside Russia.
Deputy head of Roskomnadzor, Maksim Ksendzov said that this would not matter.
“The law is not tied to the territorial registration or passport data. If someone writes in Russian or any other language used by the peoples of the Russian Federation, if he or she is seeking to attract the Russian audience’s attention and if they use Russian sites for this, such people will have to observe the law,” the official said in an interview with popular daily Izvestia.

Critics of the law have complained that the law is specifically designed to stamp out growing political voices opposed to Putin and would give the Russian government the ability to easily decipher who was driving online conversation and take appropriate action against trouble makers.

Though such criticism is nothing new, Russia seems to have taken a step further and stepped up its ante within months of its show of strength in Ukraine.

The Kremlin recently blocked access to the websites of Russian dissidents and noted former chess champion, Garry Kasparov and Alexei Navalny because it claimed both sites asked Russian citizens to break the law. Kasparov, who after retiring from chess, has since become an advocate for democracy in Russia and even ran for president in 2007. Navalny had previously led demonstrations against Putin and has continued to oppose the government through his blog.

The law does not specify how the government will count site visitors. According to the New York Times, blogging platforms LiveJournal and Yandex have decided to halt their public traffic counters below the 3,000-visitor threshold, making it unclear how the government will prove those sites garner enough traffic to qualify as media outlets.

The law also does not make clear whether platforms primarily run outside Russia such as Google or Facebook will also have to store data on Russian soil if they want to continue operating in the country.

But leaving all this apart the biggest problem our counterparts in Russia will face is the loss of their right to let the world know of their views without revealing themselves. While it is true that the law might protect officials from slander and baseless accusations, the law does more harm them good. In the name of safeguarding private interest, the Russian Government found a way to keep an eye on all Government dissidents at once.

It is well known that not all writers write merely to gain popularity. There are those who use ‘pen names’ because of various reasons. A writer does have the right to publish their articles under any name they want and as long as they don’t break any existing laws, no new law should prevent him from expressing himself. It should also be noted that in case of default of this law by a blogger, they would be liable to be fined, with individual violators being fined between 10,000 to 30,000 rubles (roughly $280 to $850 at the current exchange rate), while "legal entities" will face fines of 300,000 rubles ($8,500).

While the Russian bear goes on a rampage across Europe and the Internet, it is aware of the small voices of dissent which is gaining momentum in its own backyard. It would do well to remember that not many countries have been very successful shutting down all forms of dissent through oppressive methods. Sometimes, ‘kind words and stick’ work better then the stick alone.   According to Reporters Without Borders, the law covers not only traditional blogs but micro blogs and social networks. In addition to following existing laws, writers will be responsible for fact-checking any information they post and removing any inaccurate comments, and they're forbidden from harming the reputation of a person or group or using their platform to "hide or falsify information of general interest."  Also bloggers are not allowed to remain anonymous anymore.

A senior official from Russian control agency Roskomnadzor says new restrictions would apply to all bloggers who write in Russian, even if they live abroad, adding that whole platforms can be blocked inside the country for refusal to cooperate.

The new law defines ‘popular bloggers’ as those having 3,000 or more visitors per day and demands that such people were registered under their real names and follow some basic rules similar to those mentioned in the Law on Mass Media – verify their reports and abstain from posting slander or anything that can be described as ethnic, religious or social hatred. The law will come into force on August 1, 2014.

However, the law has no provisions connected with the global and trans-border nature of blogs and the internet as a whole. The document does not specify if it applies to cases in which both the authors of blogs and the blog platforms are based outside Russia.

Deputy head of Roskomnadzor, Maksim Ksendzov said that this would not matter.

“The law is not tied to the territorial registration or passport data. If someone writes in Russian or any other language used by the peoples of the Russian Federation, if he or she is seeking to attract the Russian audience’s attention and if they use Russian sites for this, such people will have to observe the law,” the official said in an interview with popular daily Izvestia.

Critics of the law have complained that the law is specifically designed to stamp out growing political voices opposed to Putin and would give the Russian government the ability to easily decipher who was driving online conversation and take appropriate action against trouble makers.

Though such criticism is nothing new, Russia seems to have taken a step further and stepped up its ante within months of its show of strength in Ukraine.

The Kremlin recently blocked access to the websites of Russian dissidents and noted former chess champion, Garry Kasparov and Alexei Navalny because it claimed both sites asked Russian citizens to break the law. Kasparov, who after retiring from chess, has since become an advocate for democracy in Russia and even ran for president in 2007. Navalny had previously led demonstrations against Putin and has continued to oppose the government through his blog.

The law does not specify how the government will count site visitors. According to the New York Times, blogging platforms LiveJournal and Yandex have decided to halt their public traffic counters below the 3,000-visitor threshold, making it unclear how the government will prove those sites garner enough traffic to qualify as media outlets.

The law also does not make clear whether platforms primarily run outside Russia such as Google or Facebook will also have to store data on Russian soil if they want to continue operating in the country.

But leaving all this apart the biggest problem our counterparts in Russia will face is the loss of their right to let the world know of their views without revealing themselves. While it is true that the law might protect officials from slander and baseless accusations, the law does more harm them good. In the name of safeguarding private interest, the Russian Government found a way to keep an eye on all Government dissidents at once.

It is well known that not all writers write merely to gain popularity. There are those who use ‘pen names’ because of various reasons. A writer does have the right to publish their articles under any name they want and as long as they don’t break any existing laws, no new law should prevent him from expressing himself. It should also be noted that in case of default of this law by a blogger, they would be liable to be fined, with individual violators being fined between 10,000 to 30,000 rubles (roughly $280 to $850 at the current exchange rate), while "legal entities" will face fines of 300,000 rubles ($8,500).

While the Russian bear goes on a rampage across Europe and the Internet, it is aware of the small voices of dissent which is gaining momentum in its own backyard. It would do well to remember that not many countries have been very successful shutting down all forms of dissent through oppressive methods. Sometimes, ‘kind words and stick’ work better then the stick alone.   

Reference:- 

1) Reuters.

2) mashable.com

3) The Verge.

About The Author:-

Sourya Banerjee

Posted in: Blogging,YOUR VOICE