Russia considers new Internet filtering technology

According to this article published on a Russian news-site Inbox.ru, Russia has moved one inch closer to the China-style system of filtering the Web. Russia's Ministry of Communications has urged ISPs to start filtering "negative" Internet content in places that provide public access to the Internet (think cafes, libraries, etc). Such filters have already been planned to be installed in Russian schools.

It may not seem that ominous - after all, many European governments have the same filtering restrictions - but it looks particularly bad in the light of a new Russian law on Internet controls, which was preliminary passed by Duma  earlier this year. Entitled "Defending children from information that may hurt their health and development" (what a name!), the law would require all users to verify their age before being able to surf the Web. By default all users will be assumed to be 6-year-old kids. It's not yet clear how that verification would happen. The fear is that many ISPs will simply cut access to some Internet sites in order to avoid potential problems if their users turn to be under the legal age...