In response to Publius Pundit's article on the Russian Police crackdown on blogs, Siberian Light asks if Russian blogs are really under legal threat? Specifically:

I would say that bloggers are not held to the same ethical standards. Of course libel still applies, but that is a specific tort where damages apply. (Libel/Slander) Libel not only applies to the media it also applies if I hand write intentionally false statements and distributed them and the words damage someone's reputation. It could even apply to the bathroom wall if you could only prove who wrote those nasty things about someone.

Additionally, most media outlets have standards and guidelines or hurdles that must be cleared to publish information. WordPress is an editor, but not that kind of editor. How many bloggers have lost their role as a blogger because they published false information? The editors of blogs are the public at large which quickly sorts through the likely false information, but that does not prevent false publication.

What is different here is hurdle of registration for bloggers and the overhead associated with government regulations in Russia. Me in the US? I just bought a domain name and went to work. I did not go down to the local city court house to declare my intent to publish a blog and file lots of paperwork. In Europe or America, we could probably handle that hurdle, but in Russia... well, have you tried to Register a visa in the last few years? These days you have to know someone in the Ovir's office or stay at a hotel. Now imagine trying to register your publication. Additionally, in Russia have you ever seen a law applied evenly? This will probably be applied to only those who make statements contrary to policy, but what should the government focus on to enforce the media law -- a blog about TaTu or a blog about politics?

I found this link to Russian media law (Here is the google cached version if that link still does not work.) Note: This law may have been amended since it is from January 2003. It seems rather clear that it should be applied to bloggers, even if that was not the intention.



Article 2:

Mass media shall be understood to mean a periodical printed publication, a radio, television or video program, a newsreel program, and any other form of periodical dissemination of mass information;

Certainly this law could cover blogs the way that this is written.



Article 3:

No provision shall be made for the censorship of mass information... and also for the suppression of the dissemination of messages. No provision shall be made for the creation and financing of organizations, institutions, organs or offices whose functions include the censorship of mass information.

So clearly direct and open censorship would be illegal.

Article 10. The Application for Registration.
The application for the registration of a mass medium shall indicate:

1. information about the founder (co-founders) provided for by the present Law;
2. the name of a mass medium;
3. language (languages) to be used;
4. address of its editor�s office;
5. a form of periodical dissemination of mass communication;
6. the supposed area of the spread of products;
7. approximate topics and (or) specialization;
8. the supposed periodicity of issue and maximum extent of a mass medium;
9. sources of financing;
10. information about the mass media in which the applicant is a founder, owner, editor-in-chief in the editorial office or distributor.

That does not sounds so bad, but that depends on how difficult offices make the process at the local level. You can't begin publication until you have the registration. What happens if they just never give it to you? Additionally, there is a fee that must be paid, but the law says that it is to be set by the legislative branch, so I am not certain what they must pay to register their blogs.

See my comments on the supposed crackdown which I published yesterday on Publis' article.

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