Kevin Rothrock

Latest posts by Kevin Rothrock

Russia's Cyber Nanny Calls for a Clean RuNet

  4 July 2014

In the eyes of parliamentarian Yelena Mizulina, the Russian Internet is a pretty scary place. Learn about the Cyber Nanny's latest filtering initiative with this handy breakdown from RuNet Echo.

Russia Says the Internet Spreads Extremism

  21 June 2014

Russia’s Interior Ministry has drafted a ten-year strategy for countering violent extremism. The plan identifies the Internet as the main conduit for extremism and calls for new policing measures.

The Kremlin’s Internet Annexation

  30 April 2014

For some reason, lawmakers in Russia today continue to add new powers to the state’s censorship utility-belt, as though the current panoply of Internet controls weren’t enough.

Russia’s Best News Portal Decimated

  12 March 2014

In Russia’s jingoist climate today, it is now much easier for corporate owners and state authorities to meddle in the politics of the country’s news websites.

Monitoring the Russian Internet for Big Bucks

  14 January 2014

The Russian Federal Protective Service is asking software developers to design a system that automatically monitors the country’s news and social media, producing reports that study netizens’ political attitudes.

Orphaned in US, SOPA Finds Home in Russia

  17 June 2013

America’s controversial Stop Online Piracy Act is back—and it’s poised to become law in a matter of weeks. SOPA, however, isn’t coming to the US, where a wide coalition defeated the legislation in January 2012. A law that creates similarly harsh penalties for online copyright violations is on the cusp of finding a home in Russia.

Russia's #1 Netizen Heads to Trial

  17 April 2013

Pussy Riot, eat your heart out. On April 17, Russia’s most polarizing blogger, Alexey Navalny, will stand trial for embezzling roughly half a million dollars from a state-owned timber company in the city of Kirov. In a country constantly plagued by politicized legal proceedings, prosecuting the nation’s most prominent netizen promises fireworks.

Wikipedia's Suicide Mission Against Russian Censors

  13 April 2013

Smoking cannabis is dangerous business for people the world over. In Russia, just writing about it online can get you in trouble. State officials informed Wikimedia Russia that the government has placed its “Cannabis Smoking” article on its blacklist of illegal websites.