Internet and Law: A website register with banned information to be launched in Russia

The State Duma amended the Law “On information, information technologies and information security”, which provides creation of a single register of Internet resources, containing information forbidden for distribution in Russia by federal laws.

“The federal executive body authorized by the government" will keep the register. This department will be able include to the registry platforms which host the promotion of forbidden substances, as well as information which may injure the human being. All other cases on including sites to the register require Court decision. The decision on including the site to the register, his owner may appeal to the court within three months.

As soon as the site falls into the registry, web hosting provider must request from the owner of the site to remove it within few days. If not, the provider must limit the access to the site. If the hosting provider does not do anything himself, the network address is already included in the registry, and then the telecom operator is to restrict access to the information.

Foreign sites will also be included in the register, and their owners will get newsletters. Theree days after removing the illegal content, and notifying the authorized body, the site can resume operation, the bill says.