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Summary: Free-speech advocates have argued the law is really an attempt to block dissenting viewpoints on the Web, rather than to "protect" children from "harmful" content.
[5 September 2012] - Russia's young Web users may find themselves stuck in second gear on the information superhighway when a new internet law takes effect in the coming weeks. The country’s telecommunications regulator has been discussing barring those under the age of 18 from using public wi-fi networks. The proposal stems from a controversial law, passed in July and scheduled to go into effect on November 1, that is specifically designed to protect children from harmful content. “The law contains wording that is committed to protecting children from accessing information that could harm them. The position of the law must be observed,” said the regulator’s spokesman, Vladimir Pikov. The law’s backers had insisted it was designed only to target child pornography and other offensive sites, but concerns surrounding it have repeatedly bubbled up since its passage in the summer, as the scope of its possible application has spread. Word of a wi-fi ban for under-18s emerged during a meeting on Wednesday between a top official with the regulatory body and Internet-media representatives. Providers of public wi-fi points, such as café and restaurant owners, were spooked when a report in business daily Vedomosti suggested they would be responsible for policing who logged on to their signal and that they could face fines for failing to keep youngsters offline. Officials later sought to play down the proposal, saying they were simply considering how best to implement the new law in the modern media age. “There is a problem of uncontrolled dissemination of information in areas where there is free access to the Internet, for people of any age,” the head of the regulatory agency, Alexander Zharov, told Interfax. “How to solve it in a particular case, and who will control the body, is the subject of discussion.” While free-speech advocates have argued the law is really a veiled attempt to block dissenting viewpoints on the Web, it has also raised concerns among Internet and other media operators who will now become responsible for the content users post and see. Those concerns have prompted many cinemas to begin barring movie-goers under the age of 16 or 18 from films that contain suggestive content - even those like the Twilight series, which are aimed at teens - for fear of violating the new law. Further Information:
pdf: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/russia-cons...