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Russian authorities tighten hold on opposition with ‘bloggers’ law’
Bloggers and politicians opposing Moscow's official line face powerful online restrictionsif they draw more than 3,000 daily readers
PUBLISHED : Friday, 01 August, 2014, 9:55pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 02 August, 2014, 7:09am
The Washington Post in Moscow
Bloggers and activists said the new "blogger law" would encourage online self-censorship. Photo: AFP
Russia's shrinking space for freedom of expression on the internet is set to constrict further, after tough regulations went into effect giving authorities powerful oversight over the most-read online personalities, including opposition bloggers and politicians.
The restrictions, put into force yesterday, come as some of Russia's most prominent independent online news websites have been blocked or gutted in recent months, and at a crucial juncture in the Ukrainian conflict, which has raised tensions between Russia and the West to levels not seen since the cold war.
The internet in Russia had long been uncensored even as the nation's television stations and newspapers toed an ever-stricter Kremlin line. However, bloggers and activists said the new rules would encourage online self-censorship and create new risks for those who advocating contrarian viewpoints.
The regulations are known as the "blogger law" because it requires any person whose online presence draws more than 3,000 daily readers to register, disclose personal information and submit to the same regulations as mass media.
Critics say the rules are confusing, poorly written and hard to enforce. But the end effect is to put most of Russia's prominent online personalities in violation of the law at all times, risking fines and other harassment whenever authorities decide to crack down.
Russian blogger Oleg Kozyrev
"Every blogger might face a threat of criminal prosecution," said Oleg Kozyrev, a prominent opposition blogger, who said he had no intention of registering.
Kozyrev said he expected many of his colleagues would resort to a Soviet-era habit to avoid confrontation with authorities. "There is a tradition in Russian literature of fables, and of speaking figuratively and hinting," he said. "They won't say what they really mean, but people will guess."
Even before the law went into effect, the space for online expression had been shrinking. Rules that require the data of Russian users to be stored on Russian soil, thus subjecting them to Russian law and monitoring, take effect next year.
A law passed earlier this year gave authorities the power to block sites without explanation, and they put it to use a month later, blocking four opposition websites, including the blog of anti-corruption politician Alexei Navalny, a prominent anti-Kremlin leader.
Navalny remains under house arrest on corruption charges and is barred from communicating with the media.
Also in February, prominent independent news website, Lenta.ru was transformed after the editor was fired and most of her staff left. Its hat content is now more pro-Kremlin.
The new rules require popular bloggers to register with the oversight agency, Roskomnadzor, and to comply with regulations that require bloggers to publish their name and contact details. The rules also hold them liable for any misinformation, along with any misinformation contained in comments posted on their sites.
Users also are forbidden from using obscenities that are ubiquitous online, in popular culture. Fines on individuals range from US$280 to US$1,400.
For organisations, such as Navalny's anti-corruption site, the fines can be up to US$14,000 per violation.
Adding to the confusion - and to suspicions that the law would be used only as a bludgeon against political opponents, Roskomnadzor said this week that bloggers would need to register only if the agency asks them to do so.
"If you publish pictures of cats on your blog and if you do not use obscene language or disclose state secrets, this responsibility might not arise at all even if you have a million unique visits a day," Roskomnadzor deputy director Maxim Ksenzov told Lenta.ru on Tuesday.
