OSINFO - Open Sources Information

From: R/W Web

Russia, which is home to almost 30 million of Europe's 350 million Internet users may begin to extend its strict media censorship laws to the Internet, according to a report in the AFP. State newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported today that Russia's prosecutor's office wants to toughen its "anti-extremism" laws on the web. Most newspapers and television are already under some form of governmental control, which makes the Internet one of the last places for free press in the country. New proposals would begin to erode the last bastion of press freedom in the country.

"The Internet is the freest area of the media in Russia," writes the AFP. Under current laws, Russian newspapers and television stations may be shut down by the government for printing or broadcasting content deemed extreme. A new proposal would extend that law to Internet web sites, which would need to be blocked "within a month" by ISPs if found to be publishing content what the government considers too extreme.

Freedom of speech advocates in Russia call the extremism laws too vague and sweeping, arguing that they are open for abuse by government officials. Last year, Russian news site www.gazeta.ru was warned for extremism after writing about political cartoons that satirized the prophet Mohammed.