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If proposed amendments to a Russian law get passed, a wave of censorship could ripple through the country's Web sites including a complete closure of Wikipedia.

This is what Wikipedia in Russian looks like during the blackout. It says, "Imagine a world without free knowledge."

Wikipedia shut down for 24 hours, just six months ago, joining a massive Web protest in the U.S. over the proposed anti-piracy laws SOPA and PIPA. Now, it's stepping up again in a major Internet revolt against online censorship in Russia.

According to The Next Web, the Russian government is looking to amend a law called the "Act for Information." The proposed changes to the law could lead to sweeping censorship of the Internet, including the complete closure of Wikipedia in Russia.

Wikipedia posted a statement in Russian on its Web site, which The Next Web translated; this is what it says:

In addition to the proposed amendments to the "Act for Information," the government is also mulling over another bill that harkens back to the country's Soviet past with harsh censorship crackdowns. Under the draft bill, all Web sites that contain pornography or drug references, or that promote suicide or other "extremist ideas," will purportedly face blacklisting.

Russia isn't known as a Web-friendly country. Earlier this year, Reporters Without Borders listed it as an "Under Surveillance" country in its "Enemies of the Internet" report. And just last month, Russia came under scrutiny for proposing amendments to a U.N. treaty that could lead to censorship of citizens who use the Web to voice government opposition.

The Russian government is scheduled to decide whether to pass the proposed amendments on the "Act for Information" tomorrow.

See the original post here:
Wikipedia blackout in Russia to protest censorship