An “unspecified government agency” blocked the election website of Alexei Navalny’s supporters “Russia without Putin”

The election website of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (recognized as an extremist organization and banned) has ceased to be accessible in the Russian Federation without using a VPN.

Supporters of Alexei Navalny reported this last night.

The site described the theses of an opposition politician about the possibility of influencing the result of the upcoming presidential elections in Russia.

FBK, among other things, suggested that each opponent of the regime “convince 10 people to vote against Putin.”

This was reported by supporters of the oppositionist. The website described Navalny’s theses about the possibility of influencing the result of the upcoming presidential elections in Russia. FBK, among other things, suggested that each opponent of the regime “convince 10 people to vote against Putin.”

Previously, FBK managed to place billboards with a QR code leading to the website in some Russian cities. The codes on the posters began to be painted over when it became clear that they led to this resource, and the Moscow authorities “warned” the city’s advertisers against placing any billboards with QR codes.

Later the site appeared in the register of prohibited information:

➡️https://reestr.rublacklist.net/ru/record/6559618/
➡️https://reestr.rublacklist.net/ru/record/6562794/

Interestingly, the decision on the first blocking was dated May 18 of this year, the second – December 7. Restriction of access to the latter is carried out using a “mask” – that is, to all domains and subdomains at once.

The decision to block this site was made by an “Unspecified government agency,” which most likely hides the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation.

This department has the authority to extrajudicially block websites that contain calls for extremism, terrorism, or mass riots.

The Prosecutor General’s Office also blocks “fakes” about the army, websites of “undesirable organizations,” offers to purchase fake documents and fraudulent resources, false reports of terrorist acts, unreliable socially significant information, and calls for sanctions against the Russian Federation. In the fall of this year, she was also instructed to limit access without trial to information about financial assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, unauthorized religious donations, and sites with information about bypassing blocking.

#RKS_blocking

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November 2, 2023

Putin signed a law on blocking VPNs by the Prosecutor General’s Office and banning information about donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine

In addition, the supervisory agency will block sites that collect religious donations if the organization carrying them has not received the appropriate permission.

Photo: collage “Roskomsvoboda” / Digital Buggu – Pexels / PNGwing / Canva

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that significantly expands the powers of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Amendments are being made to federal laws No. 149-FZ “On information, information technologies and information protection” and No. 125-FZ “On freedom of conscience and religious associations.”

Firstly, the paragraphs that indicate what type of content the Prosecutor General’s Office has the right to block are being streamlined.

Secondly, the following were added to the blocking list:

• information with a proposal to finance the enemy in an armed conflict;
• information about the collection of donations by religious organizations, if they have not received the right to conduct such collections;
• information allowing access to the information or materials specified in the [above] paragraphs.

That is, the last point says that the Prosecutor General’s Office will block information about bypassing blocking. According to our lawyers, he:

“…formulated very broadly. With a high degree of probability, this will also affect VPNs.”

Initially, the bill submitted to the State Duma was aimed only at blocking information about calls to finance the enemy army (primarily the Armed Forces of Ukraine), and by the second reading, through the efforts of the head of the State Duma IT Committee Alexander Khinshtein and his committee colleague Anton Gorelkin, it was amended with amendments that significantly changed him, and not for the better.

The amendments will come into force on November 13 this year