huridocs-tech Russian government wants to restrict sites in .RU domain

[Originally posted on the "politech" listserv.]

Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 20:34:04 -0500
To: politech@vorlon.mit.edu
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject: FC: Russian government wants to restrict sites in .RU domain
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**********

 >Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 18:19:31 -0500
 >To: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
 >From: Barry Steinhardt <Barrys@aclu.org>
 >Subject: Governmental control over .RU zone
 >
 >
 >Declan,
 >
 >Here is a disturbing report from Russia that was posted to the Global
 >Internet Liberty Campaign (www.GILC.org) list. Sergei Smirnov of the
 >Russian Human Rights Network reports that the Russian government plans to
 >control the .RU domain with the prospect that web sites might be licensed.
 >
 >Russia, of course, is also the home of SORM the edict which forces ISPs to
 >route all email traffic to the state security service the FSB. (The FSB is
 >the domestic successor to the KGB). SORM is currently being challenged by a
 >St Petersburg ISP and the human rights group Citizens Watch as a violation
 >of European Human Rights Law. The issue. is likely to end up in the
 >European Court of Justice, where it could set an important precedent for
 >all of the European nations who belong to the Council of Europe..
 >
 >Barry Steinhardt
 >
 >
 >On 28 December 1998 Russian premier minister Vladimir Putin and members of
 >the goverment met Russian Internet community representatives. During that
 >meeting the minister of communication and information Leonid Reitman
 >announced his plans on governmental control over registration of new domain
 >names in Russian .ru zone. A new structure will be created for this purpose
 >only, said the minister. In draft document obtained from the government it
 >is described as new sites must be created and registered.
 >
 >Separately from all other events this information means almost nothing since
 >there are no strict limitations in papers presented by the government.
 >However the growing interest of Russian government towards Internet became
 >bad tradition after Reitman declared earlier that Internet should be
 >controlled by the government for "bad sites" to be closed and next attempt
 >of Russian powers to review the Internet "official status" as mass media
 >with mandatory registration and licensing of websites.
 >
 >The governmental discomfort has been amplified after two major events. The
 >first one was the Chechen site which offered "alternative" information about
 >the current war campaign (often polar to one produced by governmental
 >media). The second one was scandal around the results of parliamenrtary
 >elections published on the Web (it is prohibited by Russian laws to publish
 >such materials in mass media while elections are going on; however, Internet
 >is not mentioned in home legislation as "mass media").
 >
 >Sergei Smirnov
 >Human Rights Network
 >http://www.hro.org
 >
 >
 >
 >________________________________________________________
 >Barry Steinhardt				212 549 2508 (v)
 >Associate Director				212 549 2656 (f)
 >American Civil Liberties Union		Barrys@aclu.org
 >125 Broad Street
 >New York, NY 10004				http://www.aclu.org
 >


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