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Wikipedia once again is diving into Internet politics.

The free encyclopedia on Tuesday temporarily shut down access to most of its Russian-language site in protest of proposed legal action in Russia that it says would result in Internet censorship.

Visitors to ru.wikipedia.org on Tuesday saw a black censorship bar over the Wikipedia logo and a message asking them to imagine a world without free access to knowledge.

In January, Wikipedia shuttered its English sites for 24 hours in protest of anti-piracy laws that were being discussed in the U.S. Congress. That action was cited as evidence of a new wave of political power for the technology and Internet industries. Google and others joined in that protest, which essentially derailed two anti-piracy bills in the United States.

The Russian Wikipedia site compares proposed amendments to an "On Information" law to China's hyper-restrictive firewall. If implemented, the changes to the law could result in access to Wikipedia being cut off permanently, the group says.

"Lobbyists and activists who support the given amendments are claiming that they are directed exclusively against content like child pornography 'and the like,' but according to presented reports and statements, a prototype of 'The Great Firewall of China' will be created in Russia," Wikipedia says in a statement on its site, which was translated from Russian. "The practice of implementing existing Russian laws suggests a high chance of a worse scenario, in which access to Wikipedia will be denied across the country.

"Given the precedent, there's a good chance access to Wikipedia will be denied across the country."

The bills, according to news reports, would allow the government to blacklist certain websites. The aim, the government says, is to protect Internet users from harmful content like child pornography and websites that promote substance abuse.

"The Russian bill currently under discussion in parliament seeks to introduce a non-governmental Internet watchdog, which would monitor the Web for potentially harmful content and request hosting companies to restrict access to the marked pages," reports RT.com, a Russian news site that receives government funding. "If this is not done, the page would be blacklisted. The bill also has stricter provisions for parental guidance ratings for content."

The updates do not have universal support in the Russian government, the news site says. The country's information minister, for example, has "voiced doubt" about the changes, saying they would be difficult to enforce.

Originally posted here:
Wikipedia fights Russia web censorship