Report: Mail.Ru calls for amnesty for accused of social net posting

MOSCOW, Aug 16 (PRIME) -- Russian Internet giant Mail.Ru Group has addressed the State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, with a request to pardon the accused for law-violating posts in social networks, business daily Vedomosti reported on its website late Wednesday.

“The amnesty should apply to the accused for extremism and distribution of information and other activities in social networks – including likes, reposts, publication of images – in the cases if such actions have no dangerous consequences,” Mail.Ru Group said.

The company also asked the Supreme Court to unite court practice on criminal cases stipulating responsibility for crimes committed via the Internet, like posting and reposting. “With a lack of motive, the actions cannot form the components of crime that entail responsibility for extremism,” the company said.

Mail.Ru Group also asked the court to give legal definitions to the notions “post”, “repost” and “like” to lay legal grounds for objective consideration of cases.

The company addressed the Justice Ministry with a request to elaborate a method of linguistic and artistic studies of the cases on extremism, because experts in various regions assess materials of cases differently.

Mail.Ru Group also went to the human rights authority with a request to word an appeal to the Constitutional Court to check clauses of Article 282 of Russia's Criminal Code for their compliance with the Constitution.

End