In the fall, the Great Chinese Firewall will come to us.
Well, dear? Autumn is approaching and the time, as it is now customary to call it in rather narrow circles, listening to the Echo of Moscow "Furious Printer". Of course, all these attempts of one very famous party will not lead to anything good either for itself or for us. The Internet and the blogosphere, stand-alone blogs, even VC - this is not your 1st channel, Vesti or NTV.
As you know from physics, a boiler without exploding steam can explode.
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Bloggers Caught for Language
Criticism of power can be an expensive pleasure for the opposition part of the Internet community.
In early October, the State Duma will summarize the law enforcement practice of the defamation law adopted in the spring. United Russia, as NG has learned, is ready to make amendments to punish anonymous critics of power on the Web. According to the newspaper, A Just Russia is also working on this issue, preparing to take an active part in the discussion of the problem. Experts doubt the feasibility of the initiative.
According to NG, a source close to the presidential administration in the Kremlin is worried about the harsh but unproven criticism of the authorities on the Web. According to the source, such statements are also made by journalists who are forced to adhere to the law on the pages of their media and who go beyond the limits on the Internet: “The outdated media law does not spell out rules governing the behavior of the press on the Web. And there are many violations recorded on her part. ”
Meanwhile, in the Duma, an NG correspondent was informed that the question is wider. According to the deputy speaker of the State Duma and member of the lower house committee on culture, Sergei Zheleznyak, “everything is now clear with the media”: “The law already provides for corresponding responsibility for journalists - both for publications and for authors. But what if some anonymous user allows himself offensive language? In this direction, we will consider issues related to improving legislation so that anonymity does not create the illusion of impunity for such people. ” The interlocutor of NG stressed that the issue will be resolved “through amendments to the legislation that will allow the identification of those who, under the guise of anonymity, commit crimes on the Web. This is a very serious job,
It is necessary to analyze the law enforcement practice of the new law, said Sergei Zheleznyak. The work will be completed in a month, and then concrete proposals will appear to amend the legislation in this direction, the vice speaker explained: “If a citizen names a specific party or a specific person, then he can be charged. For example, if he mentions the “party of crooks and thieves” and says what structure he has in mind. The Internet should not remain a zone of lawlessness. We are now just doing this work. ”
State Duma deputy from A Just Russia, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on constitutional law and state building, Alexander Ageev told NG: “We have always supported everything related to extremism. And we will also support the discussion in the Duma of these issues. If extremist statements and statements continue to appear on the Internet, they will be equated with statements in the media, that is, propaganda. ” In the fall, “Fair Russia,” Ageev told Nezavisimaya Gazeta, will take part in drafting an appropriate amendment to the media law, and “the relevant committee is ready to discuss this initiative and support it.”
Not only the Duma, but also the Federation Council is preoccupied with these problems. In October last year, the Federation Council Commission on Civil Society Development approved a bill against extremism on the Internet. The document provides a norm according to which any statements of an extremist nature on the Web will be considered public and will entail punishment of up to five years in prison - as well as similar calls in the media.
The Communist Party, as it turned out, was informed about the intention of "United Russia" to initiate amendments to the legislation regarding statements on the Internet.
Party lawyer, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, Vadim Solovyov, told NG that in the spring there were lively talks in the ruling party “to take control of the Internet and criminalize critics of the ruling party”: “In the fall, the topic will be especially relevant, then laws will be adopted that tighten the responsibility for harsh statements of citizens on the Web. I think that United Russia will accept a very tough amendment, although in principle it contradicts the approach of the European Court and the European Parliament to these issues. "
Interlocutor of NG recalls that in the West, criticism of power is a distinctive feature of a democratic society: “When both the media and individual citizens monitor the work of the government and thoroughly discuss its actions, even if they overdo it in some way (if this is not of a nature personal insults), then efforts of this kind are accepted by society. Because it is interested in tight control over the current government and current politicians. ”
Attempts to regulate the Internet space, said Alexei Mukhin, director general of the Center for Political Information, in a conversation with NG, are too technically complicated: “Therefore, the Kremlin’s initiatives in this direction are pedagogically frightening. The authorities want to bring down a wave of political activity on the Web. To tell the opposition: they say, you will say a lot - "turn off the gas", as in the famous Soviet film ... "
In the Duma, the expert believes, they are well aware that this initiative will cause serious opposition from both the media and external observers: “Deputies and the Kremlin should think about how to prevent the child from splashing out with water. You can easily create a negative image for yourself by positioning Russia as a country that is strangling the Internet, following the example of China or North Korea. Therefore, the president is unlikely to go for the implementation of such initiatives. It’s rather a warning shot. ”
Mukhin recalls that elections in the regions are coming in the fall: “Regulating the Internet is convenient, but not feasible and very expensive. Most of the Network’s tools are beyond the competence of Russian law enforcement agencies. The initiative of the State Duma may work against the government - after all, United Russia itself often and actively use networks to present their ideas. ”
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Original
PS I apologize in advance for copy-paste, but infuriated, honestly! I could not resist. Just sick of already.