Censorship on the Internet will not

Cybersecurity and behavior on the Web are topical issues, but blocking the Internet or blocking access to social networks is unacceptable, says Minister of Communications and Mass Communications Igor Schegolev

In his article on the website of the Vedomosti newspaper, Shchegolev commented on the scandalous draft law on the protection of American intellectual property on the Internet / SOPA / that is now being considered in the USA.


The largest representatives of the Internet industry - Google, Facebook, Yahoo !, Twitter, Mozilla and eBay - opposed the bill, the essence of which lies in the fact that any participant in Internet activities, starting with providers and ending with search engines and even advertisers, is obliged to any appeal from the right holder to stop any interaction and provision of services to the resource accused of piracy. In addition, the bill makes it possible to block not only websites whose servers are located in the United States, but also any resources that citizens of this country have access to, which is 99% of the entire Internet.
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“The adoption of SOPA will not only have a very negative impact on the development of the Internet as a business space, but in fact can become an instrument of censorship, which is contrary to democratic principles,” said Shchegolev. He noted that in our country "all proposals relating to online space, whether protecting the interests of rights holders or combating child pornography, are discussed with industry experts." “It is impossible to block and censor the Internet, otherwise it will simply lose its meaning”

- the minister is sure.

In Russia, the Internet is freer than in the west, Shchegolev believes. “There is an opinion that the Russian government is allegedly seeking greater government control over the Internet,” he writes in his article. “But in our country, the possibility of blocking access to Twitter or Facebook in the case of social unrest is not even being considered, while some European countries have openly declared that they will apply such a measure.”

Regulate the global network is necessary for all states together, said Schegolev. But not all countries, according to him, are ready to subscribe to the convention on the Internet space as a legally binding document.

“The states that join the code of conduct will commit themselves to cooperating in the fight against criminal or terrorist activities using information telecommunication technologies, including the Network,” the head of the Ministry of Communications explained. He stressed that "the punishments of the offenders in the information space should be proportionate."

According to ITAR-TASS, Interfax