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It was proposed to repeal the “law on bloggers” in Russia

New draft law, repealing the law on bloggers in Russia, has been introduced to Russian State Duma. Provisions of the law on bloggers, regulating dissemination of publicly accessible information in Internet by bloggers, have been declared as ineffective. Many believes that registry of bloggers, created under this law, is a stupid and absurd thing.

What this law is about? The blogger is an owner of web-site and/or single page of web-site in Internet, where the publicly accessible information is published and not less than three thousands persons a day have access to such information.

What obligations the blogger has under this law? The blogger has to prohibit exploitation of web-site or its single page in order to commit crime, disclose state secret or any information protected by law, to disseminate extremism, pornographic or hate-speech materials.

The blogger must verify information before to publish it in Internet and delete false information. The blogger can’t allow dissemination of information about private life of citizen. The blogger must abide the Russian law on mass media, but the law does not provide bloggers with rights similar to rights of mass media. Blogger has the right to publish his own opinion with indication of his name or pseudonym.

The blogger can’t publish information, i.e. repost, of other bloggers or any information if publication of such information violates Russian law. The blogger has the right to make money on advertisement, certainly in accordance with law on advertisement. The blogger must indicate his name, initials and electronic address for any legal notifications on his web-site or its single page.

Roskomnadzor is a supervising authority. It must maintain registry of bloggers, monitor web-sites in Internet, it defines methodology to count daily visitors of web-site or its single page in question, and it has a right to require bloggers to provide any information necessary to maintain registry of bloggers. The blogger must provide Roskomnadzor with necessary information during 10 days following receiving of notification.

The law on bloggers covers only political blogs. Roskomnadzor decided to exclude from regulation certain types of blogging activity like blogs about culture, art or technology.