Maxim Ali has commented on the draft bill to grant the Prosecutor’s General Office the right to block sites

Novaya Advokatskaya Gazeta has published an article titled ‘Prosecutor on guard for the internet?’ which considers the draft bill which will grant the Prosecutor’s General Office new powers to block sites which allegedly contain illegal information without a court order.

Senior Associate at Maxima Legal and specialist in IP/IT matters, Maxim Ali, commented that the matter concerns the widening of the already significant powers that the Prosecutor’s General Office holds to include limiting access to sites with information which breach public and legal boundaries.  Maxim underlined that the grounds for blocking websites as set out in the draft bill is directed on providing for the swift restriction of access to suspicious sites.  As a result of the proposed changes, notification that a site has been blocked can be received by the owner after the site has been made inaccessible.  ‘With other blocking procedures, the interests of the site owner are protected by the fact that he can voluntarily remove the disputed information or, for example, by the fact that the party wishing to block a site must first receive a judicial decision,’ Maxim explained.

Maxim Ali also draws attention to the additional grounds for blocking the site ‘if the site contains materials published or shared by a non-governmental organisation whose activities are considered undesirable in the Russian Federation, there are now 11 such organisations, including the Soros Foundation (OSI Assistance Foundation). The prohibition on the distribution of materials published by such organisations is already provided for by legislation, and the explanatory note to the bill recognises that this in itself is a reason to block the material.  It is necessary to appreciate that the purpose of the proposed changes: the lawmakers intend to make the procedure for blocking such sites faster and more efficient, eliminating the need for the prosecutor to apply to court.’

For the full article (in Russian), please click here.