Internet companies oppose blocking pirated sites in Russia outside the court

On March 17, the State Duma adopted in the first reading amendments to the law “On Information ...”, according to which the “mirrors” of sites banned in Russia are blocked in the pretrial order. The author of this document is the Ministry of Communications, the main purpose of the amendments is “to prevent the illegal distribution and use of audiovisual works on the Internet.” These measures, according to the authors, should prevent the illegal distribution of Russian films.

The Ministry of Culture, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, also prepared its own amendments. But the proposals of the Ministry of Culture to simplify the procedure of blocking not only the “mirrors” of resources blocked in the Russian Federation, but also pirated websites with unlicensed content, according to the copyright holder’s application, did not find understanding of market participants without going to court, Vedomosti reports. Against this initiative is the Russian Association of Electronic Communications (RAEC), which includes more than 100 Internet companies, including Mail.ru Group, Google, eBay, Ozon, Rambler & Co, RBC, Microsoft.

This association sent a letter to State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin explaining the position of the RAEC. “The extrajudicial procedure is dangerous because the decision is made by an administrative body, which, unlike the court, is not independent,” the appeal says. Since the site owner is not involved in the blocking process, he is considered by representatives of the association to be unable to exercise his constitutional right The initiative itself, according to members of the RAEC, creates a dangerous precedent, since extrajudicial order is supposed to apply to economic disputes, and not to protect human rights and freedoms or to ensure the security of gifts.
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If these amendments are supported by the State Duma, it is likely that other market participants will also demand the introduction of extrajudicial procedures to protect their rights. The problem also lies in the fact that determining whether the site is pirated or not will be the Ministry of Culture, and not the court. "The rightholder appeals to the ministry, which keeps the register of national films, it sends a letter to Roskomnadzor, from where the blocking requirements are transmitted to operators," said Natalia Romashova, head of the Ministry of Culture. According to RAEC, this is unacceptable.

Yandex also agrees with RAEC (the company is not part of this organization). According to Asi Melkumova, a representative of Yandex, only a court can determine the fact of copyright infringement. According to a source close to the State Duma, now only the sites that are a threat to the health and lives of people or the security of the country are blocked without a court. And amendments, when adopted, can completely change the order of things.

As for the Ministry of Culture, a ministry spokesman said yesterday that he did not know anything about the RAEC letter. He also said that the amendments are “still being worked out”, and they are already supported by representatives of the film industry. Nevertheless, RAEC is trying to convey its position to the State Duma deputies. “We want, when the bill goes to the State Duma for consideration, the deputies already have information about our position,” said RAEC Director Sergei Plugotarenko.