The State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted today in the second reading a bill that gives election commissions the right to contact Roskomnadzor with a request to block websites and pages on social networks that contain illegal election campaigning, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Communist Party deputy Valery Rashkin tried to remove the issue from consideration.
“Total political censorship is being introduced. Ordinary citizens on their social network pages will be deprived of the opportunity to express their political preferences, opinions about a party or candidate - this is campaigning. How the CEC will eliminate this misunderstanding is not spelled out in the law,” Rashkin said.
As deputy Olga Sevastyanova, who presented the bill, emphasized, it “does not change existing rules, does not introduce additional special requirements and does not limit the right of citizens to campaign.”
“The norms of existing legislation apply to the Internet. One part of the campaign cannot be regulated and the other be illegal,” Sevastyanova said.
A Just Russia deputy, Oleg Nilov, proposed an amendment that would remove from the scope of the law individuals who “do not receive income, but simply express their position.”
A similar amendment was introduced by communist deputy Alexei Kurinny.
“Now any content can be considered contrary to the law, the page is blocked, and its user is fined. This is an attack on the rights of citizens, a repressive bill,” Kurinny said.
Both amendments were rejected.