Latest posts by Kevin Rothrock
How Sharing Porn Became a Felony in Russia
While ordinary Internet users in Russia today still have no problem finding adult content, police have begun cracking down on individuals who share porn on social media and peer-to-peer networks.
What to Expect From Russia's State Censor in 2016
The head of Russia's state censor discusses the normalcy of media restrictions, the efficacy of blocking online resources, tackling messenger apps, and much more to come in 2016.
Did Wikipedia Just Outsmart Russia's Internet Blacklist?
Wikipedia is trying something new in the fight against Russian censorship, and it might actually work.
Russian Censors Threaten to Shut Down Business Website for Writing About Bitcoin
Officials today told a Russian business-news website today that it must delete or edit within the next three days an article it published about bitcoins.
Russia Says Twitter Doesn’t Need to Comply With Its New Data-Localization Law
State officials have announced that Twitter can ignore a new law coming into force that will require online services to store all Russian user data on servers located inside Russia.
Here's How Russia's New ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Compares to Europe's
RuNet Echo looks at new Russian legislation that would introduce a "right to be forgotten" online, comparing it to the landmark European Court decision last year.
Facebook Responds to ‘Stop Political Blocking’ Petition by Russians and Ukrainians
In a statement posted to Change.org on June 8, Thomas Kristensen, Facebook’s director of policy for Eastern Europe and Russia, explained that the social network stands by its moderation policies
How Safe Are Internet Search Engines from Russian Censorship?
Saddling Internet search engines in Russia with new regulations raises special concerns, given Moscow's recent track record for reinterpreting Internet laws in ways that inhibit civic freedoms online.
Russia Says You Can't Mention Ukrainian Nationalists, Unless You Say They're Bad
One permitted way to mention such organizations it to do so "in a negative light, ascribing them characteristics like 'radical,' 'extremist,' or 'nationalist.'"
Twitter's New Transparency Report Shows Massive Spike in Demands from Russia
"We went from having never received a request to receiving more than 100 requests for account information. We did not provide information in response to any," Twitter's report says.
Kremlin-Owned Internet Search Engine Filters Out ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Results
Earlier today, Russian Internet users discovered that Sputnik.ru returns almost no image-search results for “Charlie Hebdo” (in Latin script or Cyrillic), whatever one’s “moderation” settings.
Russian Prosecutors Say Man's Reaction to Ethnic Riot Was Hate Speech
Konstantin Sankov stands accused of "calling for hostile acts against a group defined in terms of national identity." If convicted, he could go to prison for 5 years.
Online Campaign to Support Russian LGBT Teens Is Charged with ‘Gay Propaganda’
It is hard to underestimate the chilling effect the crackdown on Children-404 might have. The LGBT community is one of the least respected, most maligned groups in Russian society.
Russian Court Sentences 23-Year-Old Woman to 2 Years for Torrenting Porn
In court, the accused denied that she knew she was also sharing porn while she downloaded the films, but prosecutors say she admitted this knowledge when they seized her computer.
Russian Mathematician Aids Hong Kong's ‘America-Orchestrated Color Revolution’
Given the popular frame in Russia that the United States is masterminding Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrations, FireChat’s Moscow-educated co-founder is awkward for the pro-Kremlin press.
Anton Nossik on the Coming End of Facebook, Twitter, and Google in Russia
Media expert and founding member of the Russian blogosphere Anton Nossik explains why he thinks the end is nigh in Russia for websites used by billions around the globe.
How Not to Understand the Kremlin's Internet ‘Kill Switch’
The justifications for preparing a “self-sufficient RuNet” are weak. The tools necessary for such a feat, moreover, would empower the Kremlin to restrict Russia's vital communications in an instant.
Forgot Your Password? Don't Worry, the Kremlin Has It.
To ease the process of developing a national "blogger registry, the Russian government is inviting bloggers to share something every Internet user knows never to divulge: their logins and passwords.
Twitter “Blocks” Access to Russia's Most Infamous Hackers
Russia's Twitter users no longer have access to @b0ltai, an account belonging to a hacker collective that has leaked several Kremlin documents to the Internet over the past 7 months.
Russia Offers 4 Million Rubles to Crack the Tor Network
Although unlikely, should Russia’s decryption project succeed, it could endanger millions of Internet users whose interest in online anonymity is far from nefarious.
