Russia to Punish ISPs, Search Engines & Users Over Content Blocking

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http://torrentfreak.com/russia-to-punish-isps-search-engines-users-over-content-blocking-130904/

As Russia continues its crackdown on online infringement the government is now proposing even tougher measures against those who facilitate piracy. A new bill was approved yesterday which allows for fines of up to $29,853 for service providers, search engines and users who fail to comply with a blacklist of sites already subjected to copyright complaints.

Just over a month has passed since Russia introduced new legislation aimed at cracking down on online piracy. The law, which has become known as Russia’s SOPA, takes a tough line with those offering or linking to illicit content online.

Copyright complaints against a site or service can lead to that domain being added to a national blocklist, if their operators fail to render the illicit content inaccessible within a few days.

Although rightsholders have struggled at times to provide the necessary information required for a correctly formatted complaint, orders have already been issued to add sites to the Russian national blocklist. But now, just 34 days after the initial law was implemented, the government is pushing through further punitive measures for pirates and those deemed to be assisting them.