Source: HRO.org (info), 26/04/12 

· Freedom of expression 

The government is seeking to share responsibility for limiting freedom of the Internet in Russia with intermediaries: service providers, registrars, non-profits, schools and libraries. According to a new report published by Agora Human Rights Association on 26 April, government officials are being obliged to find new approaches to controlling the Internet as a result of major reputational damage caused by using traditional direct means of control. 

The human rights defenders point out that the authorities have not given up bringing criminal prosecutions against Internet users, and monitoring activities on the net that are not sanctioned by the government. According to the authors of the report, at the same time an increasing number of instances of restrictions on freedom of the Internet are not linked with direct administrative measures by government agencies and officials. They take the form of civil law suits and the actions of ‘intermediaries’, behind whose backs the presence of government officials can always be felt. [Read more]