Russia Poised to Restrict Net Activities

DigitalHammer writes: "The Russian Parliament is planning to place off- and online restrictions to curb pro-Nazi and anti-religious activities. Former Reds are afraid they will be labeled as extremists, while envirnomentalists and human rights groups complain that the proposed restrictions will halt free speech in communist-turned-democratic Russia. Deja vu, I see? News.com has the story."

Comments

The Dictator is in the Details

[Jeremiah Blatz]

From the article, it looks like this law is a stinker. Extremest speech is defined as (among other things) anything that threatens the "safety" of Russia. Penalties are not strictly limited. This thing looks lie a total mess. At least they removed the provision that required foreigners to comply with the law. (Now wouldn't *that* make you reconsider your vacation to Russia?)

They probably got the know-how...

[selderrr]

to silence minority groups. They got a decade experience in silencing anything that doesn't fit the profile.
However, I think this time they'll have to pass : if you see the effort the chinese gov are pushing to get the falung gong movement silenced, I seriously doubt any web silencing is ever going to succeed.

As related curiousity, I wonder what the state of former-soviet intelligence is on the front of web and information technology. The east-block used to have some real geniusses in their computer staff... they practically invented cryptography (and virusses :-) but just as much as their military turned out not to be anything like the stuff we feared (read : soviets-mujhahedin in afghanistan, and now in tsetsenia) I gues sthat their computer know-how has also degraded to a point where script kiddies are making fun of them...

Is there any russian experienced enough to comment on this ?

But what is the difference?

[ImaLamer]

If I operated a site which went on and on about how [insert -ism here] followers are great and America is evil and all that "bin Ladin" jazz then I would either get shut down or arrested.

America right now is in such a state of panic (well, the government is...) that they would go out of their way to crush your message.

Let's look back to the Committees on Anti-American Activities. So many lives were ruined and people were forced to answer up because they believed in something that "threatened" America (note: some didn't even believe, they were just accused). Now even though people here were afraid because of the obvious reasons - the Communist party was on the ballott. They still would have to be elected to gain any power. In fact AFAIK, no one has ever been elected under the party.

So, is this a YRO story? Kinda. But only if you are in Russia. To change this you'd have to be Russian and you would have to vote out the bastards doing this. If no one objects then... oh well.

Of course "anyone who give up freedom for security deserves neither". But that is an American quote. My guess is that lots of people here would be jumping to restrict KKK or Al-Quesadilla sites fast.

It's a funny thing. Bush has used the word "terrorism" so much that he is starting to become a tumor, ah I mean terrorist himself. His speeches scare more people than a picture of bin Ladin or the falling Twin Towers.

Just wait till they sue over the LoTR Part II title claiming it's offensive.