Russian officials seek greater leeway in blocking websites

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office is seeking to obtain greater freedom to block websites without having to wait for a court ruling.

New legislative provisions for this have been suggested by officials at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights. At the meeting, Alexei Zhafyarov, a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, complained that his state agency does not have any mechanisms to effectively block extremist online content. Zhafyarov said that extremism today is most often presented online as “propaganda and justification” of extremist actions, instead of direct calls to commit extremist acts.

Vladimir Makarov, deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Department on Counteracting Extremism, stated that decisions with regard to blocking websites should be made not by the Prosecutor General’s Office alone, but also by regional public prosecutors. The inter-departmental commission on counteracting extremism is currently drafting such legal provisions.

Mikhail Fedotov, the head of Russia’s Human Rights Council, believes that the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will consult with the Human Rights Council with regard to these initiatives. Ilya Shablinsky, a member of the Council, fears that if the new legislation is passed, it will be possible to block everything that the prosecutors deem to be extremist, including opposition media.

A law which allows the blocking of websites before the court reaches a decision is already in effect since February 2014 in Russia. The law allows the Prosecutor General’s Office to limit access to content which calls for mass unrest and participation in unsanctioned street rallies.

The authorities have used the law to block several opposition websites in Russia, including Grani.ru and the blog of the opposition politician Alexey Navalny.