PRESS: Russian service wants mirrors of blocked sites also closed

MOSCOW, Mar 16 (PRIME) -- A working group at the Russian communications service has worked out an amendment to the law on information that seeks to equate so-called mirror Web sites, copies of pirate Web sites, to the already blocked resources, business daily Kommersant reported Wednesday.

The document bans search engines from giving information on mirror sites and ways of bypassing blocking under a threat of a fine up to 100,000 rubles.

Mirror sites are created by fully or partially copying information from certain Web sites, or making them synchronized. Mirror sites and their originals have similar or identical names.

The document also seeks to oblige search engines “to stop giving information” on resources with illegal content. Internet providers will be fined for improper blocking: executives by 3,000–5,000 rubles; individuals by 10,000–30,000 rubles; and companies by 50,000–100,000 rubles. The same fines will be imposed for advertising of ways to bypass blocking.

“It’s necessary to promote legal ways of receiving content,” Matvei Alekseyev, director for external communications at Rambler & Co, said.

(70.5408 rubles – U.S. $1)

End