Russian Wikipedia shut down to protest ‘censorship’ bill
In
a move that echoes the American anti-Stop Online Piracy Act blackouts from
earlier this year, Wikipedia shut down its Russian page on Tuesday in a 24-hour
protest against a proposed bill that would grant the Russian government power
to blacklist certain Web sites.
The
Russian page now displays a black “censored” rectangle over the Wikipedia
nameplate. A statement warns that the Russian parliament will hold “a second
hearing to amend the ‘Law of Information,’ which can lead to the creation of
extra-judicial censorship of the Internet in Russia, including the loss of
access to Wikipedia in Russian.” The hearing is slated for Wednesday, according
to the Guardian.
“The
bill's backers, from Putin's United Russia party, argue that the amendments to
the country's information legislation would target child pornography and sites
that promote drug use and teen suicide. But critics, including Russian-language
Wikipedia, warned that it could be used to boost government censorship over the
internet,” the Guardian reported.
The
Wikipedia statement warned that following the wording of the proposed amendment
would result in a Russian equivalent of “the Great Chinese firewall,” for a
country that has so far had relatively unrestricted Internet access.
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