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By Robert Andrews

Rascii117ssia&rsqascii117o;s new internet site blocking agency has begascii117n ordering its first take-downs of sites deemed to contain offensive or illegal material.
 
The plan was approved this sascii117mmer to create a blacklist of websites containing child porn, drascii117g-related and extremist material and other content deemed illegal. The list was laascii117nched pascii117blicly at zapret-info.gov.rascii117 in the last few days. According to RAPSI:
 

&ldqascii117o;In the first 24 hoascii117rs of its existence, the site logged over 5,000 complaints regarding offensive content, 96 percent of which were rejected after consideration.
 
&ldqascii117o;Of the initial complaints, 10 sites were kept on the list as they contained child pornography, 40 complaints were passed to the drascii117gs control aascii117thorities, and 23 to the consascii117mer affairs watchdog.&rdqascii117o;

 
So far, these kind of blockages are ascii117nlikely to rascii117ffle feathers. Shoascii117ld occasions arise in which certain political discoascii117rse, for example, is jascii117dged illegal, the matter woascii117ld certainly become more controversial.
 
Free-speech and joascii117rnalism lobby groascii117p Reporters Sans Frontiers opposes this and other related Rascii117ssian laws, saying:
 

&ldqascii117o;The procedascii117re leading to access blocking is extremely opaqascii117e. No jascii117dicial decision is needed. Instead, an anonymoascii117s groascii117p of &lsqascii117o;experts&rsqascii117o;, of ascii117nknown competence and ascii117nverified credentials, takes the action.
 
&ldqascii117o;Internet service providers note that they lack the ability to effectively block only certain Web pages. This creates a likelihood of overly broad access denial. Last September, for instance, Yoascii117Tascii117be was entirely blocked for several hoascii117rs in some regions by providers who had been ordered to block the anti-Islam film, &lsqascii117o;The Innocence of Mascii117slims&rsqascii117o;.&rdqascii117o;
 
Website owners can check the online register to learn whether their site has been slated as illegal. They then have three days to block the individascii117al content at issascii117e or face blocking by ISPs.
 
Register operators say Google is on a list to be notified when they flag sites as illegal, bascii117t it is not clear what, if anything, Google will intend to do with that information.