Russia Threatens To Ban All Of Reddit Because Of A Single, Unspecified Drug-Related Thread
Russian regulators in charge of the company's absurdly aggressive Internet filters have threatened to ban Reddit if the website doesn't remove a single, unspecified thread from the website. In an announcement posted to Russian social networking website VKontakte, Russian regulator Roskomnadzor (the Kremlin's "Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom Information Technologies and Mass Communications") proclaims that they've tried to reach Reddit administrators about the thread, but found them unresponsive to complaints during the "relaxed" summer months.
This sort of behavior isn't new for Russia, which passed a new law back in 2012 to "protect children" from the menace of a healthy, uncensored Internet. The law has since been used to block Live Journal, censor Wikipedia entries on "smoking cannabis," quash criticism of the Putin Administration, censor journalists, and most recently block all access to the Wayback Machine.
In this latest scuff up, Roskomnadzor proclaims that because a single thread discussing the "cultivation of narcotic plants" caught the eye of the Russia's Federal Drug Control Service, the entire site will simply have to be blocked (Google translate):
Just so it's clear, the Russian government can staff warehouses full of professional disinformation and propaganda employees who'll fill the Internet with bullshit twenty four hours a day, but talking about marijuana is just taking things too damn far!
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This sort of behavior isn't new for Russia, which passed a new law back in 2012 to "protect children" from the menace of a healthy, uncensored Internet. The law has since been used to block Live Journal, censor Wikipedia entries on "smoking cannabis," quash criticism of the Putin Administration, censor journalists, and most recently block all access to the Wayback Machine.
In this latest scuff up, Roskomnadzor proclaims that because a single thread discussing the "cultivation of narcotic plants" caught the eye of the Russia's Federal Drug Control Service, the entire site will simply have to be blocked (Google translate):
"Notifications to the requirement to remove the information sent to multiple addresses resource, but no response is still not forthcoming, although earlier treatment from us in the administration treated full. We assume that during the August holidays someone is too relaxed, but this should not be a reason to venture readership. Those who have contacts with the administration - ask them to check their mail for letters from Roskomnadzor otherwise due the technical features of a number of operators may block the entire site."The post is also accompanied by this graphic in the apparent hopes of making censorship quirky and fun!
Just so it's clear, the Russian government can staff warehouses full of professional disinformation and propaganda employees who'll fill the Internet with bullshit twenty four hours a day, but talking about marijuana is just taking things too damn far!Permalink | Comments | Email This Story