Roskomnadzor plans to restrict access to Accent in Russia

08-04-2022 17:53:23 Society

The Georgian news agency Accent has received a letter from Russia's state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor about "a violation of the distribution of information".

"Based on the requirement of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy to take measures to restrict access to information resources dated 28.03.2022 № 27-31-2022/Ид4014-22 a notification is sent about a violation of the distribution of information posted at the following URLs: https://accentnews.ge/ru/article/60367-prezident-kinotavra-otmenil-festival-iz-za-agr .

The hosting provider or another person ensuring the placement of the specified information resource on the Internet is obliged:

  • Immediately after receiving this notice, inform the owner of the information resource about the need to immediately delete the information disseminated in violation of the law;
  • In case of refusal or inaction of the owner of the information resource to delete the information disseminated in violation of the law, after 24 hours from the date of receipt of this notification, restrict access to the specified information resource," the letter said.

According to Roskomnadzor, "the type of information disseminated in violation of the law False reports about acts of terrorism or other unreliable publicly significant information disseminated under the guise of reliable messages that pose a threat of harm to the life and (or) health of citizens, property, a threat of mass disruption of public order, and (or) public safety, or a threat to interfere with the functioning or termination of the operation of life support facilities, transport or social infrastructure, credit institutions, energy, industry or communications facilities."

"Description of information disseminated in violation of the law" states: "information materials containing unreliable socially significant information about the special military operation being carried out by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the forms of conducting combat operations, the loss of manpower and casualties among the civilian population. Such publications may contribute to the destabilization of the situation, as well as the creation of conditions for mass violations of public order and public security on the territory of the Russian Federation."

Chairperson of the Board at Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), Eduard Marikashvili emphasized that "the demand of the Russian side is completely devoid of legal force and no one in Georgia has an obligation to obey such a demand".

​"The legislation and jurisdiction of the Russian Federation do not apply directly to other countries, especially with regard to telecommunication regulation. The Russian Federation may consider that this or that content, which is unacceptable to them, should not be disseminated on its territory, however, their request to the outlets in Georgia to refuse to disseminate information or delete disseminated information, is completely devoid of legal force and no one in Georgia is obliged to obey such a demand," Marikashvili told Accent.

For the Accent, as a responsible media outlet, the trust of the reader is most valuable. We acquire and maintain this asset with materials that meet the highest editorial and ethical standards. We are accountable to our readers, colleagues and the community because their trust is vital to us. We declare with full responsibility that we are not going to obey the instructions of a censorship agency such as Russia's state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor. It is a great honor for us not to like our activities by those who have completely undermined the freedom of speech and expression.

Russian lawmakers dramatically toughened “fake news” laws, in the Kremlin’s latest move to crack down on domestic dissent amid its ongoing war on Ukraine. The State Duma lower house of parliament backed amendments criminalizing the public dissemination of “knowingly false information” about the activities of government bodies abroad in pursuing Russia’s national interests. The offense carries a penalty ranging from fines of between 700,000 rubles ($6,800) and 5 million rubles to imprisonment of up to 15 years if the actions led to “grave consequences.”

The new amendments add to existing legislation which criminalizes Russians who disseminate “false information” about the Russian army.

Russia banned Facebook and Instagram as “extremist” this week and the authorities have blocked or shut down independent media in attempts to silence dissent.

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