In Russia, an authority has been created to control the Internet

According to Inopressa , Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the creation of a new regulatory service in the field of media and the Internet. Among journalists, this gave rise to concerns about whether the pressure exerted on the media and on the network, which has hitherto remained free, will spread.

This week, Putin signed a decree to merge the two existing state media institutions into a single service that will issue broadcast licenses and track the content of newspapers and Internet sites.



Alexey Venediktov, editor and head of one of the few independent radio stations in Russia, Ekho Moskvy, fears that the creation of a new service could lead to the Kremlin reaching one of the last strongholds of freedom of speech in the country. “This could be a blow that will destroy the future generation of Russian journalists,” he believes.



The Internet has become an arena for opposition youth groups and is increasingly being used as a source of independent information, while the Kremlin is tightening control over television and print publications.