After briefly banning Wikipedia over a page related to drug use, new details have emerged from Bloomberg about the country's efforts to block foreign internet companies. Putin's regime appears to have no problem with the individual companies, just the content they host.
Foreign companies, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google, have all conducted meetings with the Kremlin in an attempt to make sense of a new law that gives the government more power to block websites it deems as inappropriate.
Alongside Wikipedia, multiple other sites have been blocked including GitHub, the software repository, Reddit, over a post about magic mushrooms, and The Wayback Machine, the site that archives web pages.
Russian sites have also fallen foul of the government's censorship, including Lurkmore, a satirical Wikipedia-like website that was branded "extremist." Additionally, the editor-in-chief of Lenta.ru, a news website with over 600,000 daily readers, was dismissed for publishing an interview with a Ukrainian nationalist.
Many observers are worried that the meetings between the Kremlin and large Western internet companies could lead to more sinister surveillance. Russian investigative journalist and author Andrei Soldatov told Bloomberg that "if global companies agree to talk in secret, the Russian authorities will think they are ready to cooperate in more sensitive areas."
The new spate of censorship has come after the 2012 riots in Moscow, with Putin seeking to firm up his grip on those he sees as militant through a myriad of new laws.
The government doesn't have total control, however. Yandex, the Russian equivalent of Google, has often resisted efforts by the Kremlin to censor content. Anton Nossik, the founder of Lenta.ru, told Bloomberg that "[the Kremlin] don’t know how to control Yandex, because they don’t understand how it works."
Ever since the new laws were passed, the Russian technology industry — a once booming business — has struggled, as technical talent, especially from foreign countries, flees to the West, fearful of Putin's government.
When contacted, Facebook said the company does not comment on speculation.
Twitter provided the following statement: "Twitter is a global communications platform with users, offices, and employees around the world. Our public policy team routinely meets with government representatives, about a wide range of issues that impact our operations in different countries."
Google offered no comment.
