Russia Forces Its Popular Bloggers to Register -- Or Else

[Blue_Tires]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking names. Potentially thousands.

The former KGB colonel, concerned with how social media can be used to undermine his authority, this month expanded his regulation of media to the blogosphere, requiring those with at least 3,000 daily readers to register their real names and contact information. So far, about 580 bloggers in Russia have applied to register with the country's communications regulator Roskomnadzor.

The government says this is needed so it can remove inaccurate or defamatory information on the Internet. But some bloggers fear it will limit free speech, allow Putin to close down blogs he doesn't like and give him an excuse to block sites such as Twitter in the future.

The total number of bloggers who are required to register may be several thousand. Roskomnadzor may shut down the accounts of those who don't follow the new rule. Roskomnadzor sent Eduard Limonov and Boris Akunin, who are known for their opposition to the government, requests to register their blogs, according to the daily newspaper Izvestia.

Some bloggers won't rush to register, deeming the new legislation excessive. The constitution allows free expression of opinion without any need for registration, argues Anton Nosik, a well-known Russian blogger and Internet entrepreneur.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-08/putin-makes-russia-s-top-blogger-ban-anonymous-internet-access.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-19/russia-forces-its-popular-bloggers-to-register-or-else.html

As usual, Snowden+Greenwald were unavailable for comment...

[djean111]

1. That IS scary! It is just for intimidation.

I am also going to assume that the NSA already has most of that information. Here and maybe there, too!

[Igel]

4. No, it's not just for intimidation.

It's also for data collection and information control.

It's part-and-parcel with the selective blocking of non-Russian sites that are "separatist" or otherwise dangerous, with requiring that public wifi sources that aren't otherwise covered by the law obtain personal identification data, laws requiring that all Russian data held by Russian-registered ISPs and companies keep all their data physically within Russia, and with laws that crimininalized certains kinds of dissent views (which remain underdefined, but are called "inakomyslie", a broad and vague term that censors know when they see it).

They already nailed cable providers and media companies with a set of laws that really made most of the biggest opposition media organizations exorbitantly expensive for many Russians to subscribe to and caused even the biggest to drop from cable.

Then there's the work of the quasi-official ONF. Recently it's gone on a lawyer-providing binge for "freedom of the press." Those defended are those who tow the party line, and those being defended against are those who "discriminate" by saying bad things about reporters who (allegedly) skew and misreport or fire a journalist who's reporting is deemed skewed or biased towards the government. Yes, this is the opposite of what we think as defending freedom of the press. In this case, "freedom of the press" is the freedom to support the government without consequence, while "oppression" is saying bad things about the government.

[newthinking]

2. Not saying this is a good thing, but it is a response to the west using NGO's

and blogs as cover for propaganda and other activity.

This is the problem with compromising important institutions. Such as what happened with Doctors without borders, when the CIA planted informants: Now peacemakers become targets.

As even the west's foreign policy follows the morality of "Machiavelli" rather than the "high ground", we all loose and the entire world moves further toward repressive governments, including our own.

[The Magistrate]

3. Damn, Sir: You Really Will Justify Anything....

Just so long as it is not done by the United States or some West European power, you are fine with it....

[Blue_Tires]

5. Wow...only four replies?

I can't get the thoughts of even ONE member of Greenwald's fan club?