Russian Wikipedia goes black in protest against internet censorship

The Russian Wikipedia site will go black on Tuesday, July 10. With this, the online encyclopedia is protesting against a new bill that should allow a blacklist of websites with content banned in Russia.

Opponents of the bill see it as an attempt to introduce more censorship on the Russian internet. The Wikipedia page reads: “The Wikipedia community protests against censorship that threatens access to free knowledge.”

According to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, the blacklist is managed by a government-appointed agency, which will also have the right to list sites. The idea of ​​the blacklist was floated after the Russian internet watchdog Russia’s League of Internet Security busted an international network of 130 alleged pedophiles. Proponents of the proposal hope that this will curb the spread of online (child) pornography and extremist propaganda.

The law still has to go through two parliamentary rounds. However, there is a good chance that the proposal will pass, according to The Verge. At a first reading on July 6, a majority voted in favor of the bill.