Russia starts blocking "harmful" content online.

The Russian government has begun enforcing a new law passed in November that enables it to block Internet content within its borders deemed illegal or harmful to children. According to a report by The New York Times, Russian officials have already asked Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to take down specific pages in an effort to limit access to objectionable content without resorting to a countrywide ban.

Opposition leaders in the country have railed against the law in question claiming it could be used to stifle criticism towards President Vladimir Putin or protests organized against his government on social networks. So far that hasn’t been the case, but some are worried that the law's vague wording might leave the door open to broader Internet censorship.

And so it begins again, why cant they just leave our net alone! Parents should police there children's internet content, they don't need help from essentially what amounts to a totalitarian technocracy aka the current Russian government.

I recommend using a VPN to circumvent this issue.

www.techspot.com...

reply to post by andy06shake


Whoop De Doo!!!!

I nominate anything by Soorcha Faal.

reply to post by Silcone Synapse


I think you mean Sorcha Faal. I do however tend to agree with you.

reply to post by andy06shake
What else would you expect? The people of Russia allowed the KGB to take over rulership of their country. The first time Putin took office he at least pretended to be a man of the people; this time there's no point in pretending anymore and it's back to his old KGB tricks- no surprise there.

reply to post by littled16


"What else would you expect?"

I expect freedom and the ability to censor what my children can and cannot view myself. I require no assistance form the government to do so. Censorship is just the beginning, this is the thought police in full swing!

I always thought MOST of the harmful content came from Russia?!

reply to post by andy06shake
It's not the beginning, it's just back to business as usual- the way it was before the supposed end of the "Cold War". The people of Russia got a short reprieve as democracy blossomed but when Putin strong armed his way back into power I fully expected this sort of thing to start happening. Putin was KGB- and a leopard doesn't change it's spots.

People who publicly oppose the current leadership in Russia began to mysteriously disappear or "commit suicide" as soon as Putin regained his former title. Censoring of the internet (as well as media of any sort) is just the next logical step for a power hungry tyrant. The only people who can stop this is the people of Russia. Other governments censor the internet within their borders as well (ex: Iran, N.Korea, China). It may not be right but it is happening all the time.

ATS may get blocked. They wouldn't want opened minded people in their country.

reply to post by andy06shake


Probably in line with this:

NGO law protects Russia from foreign influence – Putin

July 31, 2012 14:14

President Vladimir Putin says that by adopting the law labeling foreign-funded nonprofits involved in politics ‘foreign agents’, Russia, just like the US, wants to protect itself from external influence.

rt.com...

Obviously such a law would majorly pi$$ off the agenda 21 ngo'ers who are doing their level best to infect the entire world with the alleged blessings of sustainability and downward mobility for the masses. People with a "plan" don't like being told to go peddle their austerity for the people papers elsewhere.

This is very strange for me because im all about our Constitutional Rights but I can agree with their thinking. Yes, we have the Right of free speech but doesnt mean you cant abuse it. And the even the United States is imposing regulations to protect children online. United States, certain forms of hateful speech — such as
cyberbullying and targeted harassment continue to face increased regulation. So what Russia is doing is taking it a step further.

Anyone who been on Youtube has seen those hate filled comments. I always see comments on videos of terminally ill children saying " I hope she dies, she is a little whore" or " She/he is so ugly they should just kill themselves" or even worse. I dont think "Hate Speech" should be protected under the 1st Amendment when you intentionally set out to cause distress or harm another. Just my opinion, I know many will disagree