Including foreign ones – in response to the blocking of Russian publications in “unfriendly” countries.
The State Duma supported the draft law on amendments to three laws: “On the Mass Media”, “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” and “On Measures to Influence Persons Involved in Violating Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation”.
Perpetual site blocking
According to the document, it is proposed to add to the list of grounds for “eternal” blocking of the site the spread of “fake” about the actions of the Russian military and the activities of Russian government agencies abroad; information that discredits the actions of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as the publication of calls for sanctions against Russia.
If such information is repeatedly disseminated, the Prosecutor General’s Office may apply to Roskomnadzor with a request to immediately block the site. In this case, site owners will not be notified about the blocking, and the removal of the blocking is “not allowed”.
The bill also gives Roskomnadzor the right to block sites that are “confusingly similar to an information resource”, access to which is already restricted.
Media closure
According to the document, the Prosecutor General’s Office will have the right to invalidate the registration of mass media. This can happen if the publication distributes:
- Inaccurate information that creates a threat of harm to the life or health of citizens, property, a threat of mass violation of public order.
- “Fakes” about the actions of the Russian military and the activities of Russian government agencies abroad, as well as information that discredits their actions.
- Information that can be regarded as “disrespect for the authorities.”
- Calls for mass unsanctioned rallies, sanctions, or justification for extremist activity.
To revoke the license, the Prosecutor General’s Office must apply to Roskomnadzor, which then recognizes the registration of the media as invalid. Previously, for this, the publication had to receive two warnings per year from the department.
The bill also proposes to shut down foreign media outlets in those countries that have banned Russian media outlets. It will be prohibited to disseminate information from such publications, including through other publications and on the Internet.