President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed into law a"sovereign internet" bill which will allow Russian authorities to isolate the country's internet, a move decried by rights groups.
The authors of the initiative say Russia must ensure the security of its networks after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new American cybersecurity strategy last year that said Russia had carried out cyber attacks with impunity. The laws are part of an ongoing Kremlin clampdown on media and internet freedoms that has seen people jailed for sharing humorous memes."The bill created a system that gives the authorities the capacity to block access to parts of the Internet in Russia," said a statement backed by Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders and others.
Which is worse, sovereign internet law in Russia or contentious encryption law in Australia?
Unthinkable to many just months ago, States are battling social media & the Internet. In Russia, Venezuela & to an extent France there’s no doubt about repercussions for FreeSpeech. In NZ plans by the govt to target HateSpeech are thought by some to affect their FreeSpeech