On November 1, Russia’s latest internet censorship law came into effect. The new measure, titled “On the Protection of Children From Information Harmful to Their Health and Development,” establishes a registry of sites with content judged harmful to children. Sites that contain child pornography or that promote self-harm or drug use may be placed on the registry without a court order; sites with other forms of “illegal” content may be placed on the registry after judicial approval. A government agency, Roskomnadzor, will be responsible for maintaining the list.  Under the law, ISPs will be liable if they fail to block sites placed on the registry, and individuals will be liable if they circumvent the blocking.

Opponents of the law worry that the definition of “harmful content” is too broadly constructed and will be used to suppress the free flow of information.  They also point out that the law makes it necessary for ISP’s to use highly intrusive methods of blocking such as deep packet inspection. Supporters argue that the law does not meaningfully curtail Internet freedom, because the blacklist is targeted toward only obviously harmful content.

https://blogs.law.harvard.edu/herdict/2012/11/14/censorship-law-in-russia-raises-grave-concerns-for-internet-freedom/