Russia launches internet blacklist to protect the kiddies The Russian government has opened a blacklist of websites that will be blocked from domestic internet users to avoid them harming themselves with too much information. The new rules mean that ISPs will automatically block websites that the courts have deemed inappropriate. The law was introduced with the usual caveats about it …
I know how you feel, and certainly agree that we have surpassed 1984 in more ways than many will imagine. However, the Internet seems to be quite robust, and I take heart in the fact that even governments would have a hard time doing without it at this point in time. That means that the only possible solution, that of shutting down the internet entirely, is not an option.
The advancement of cryptography to enhance privacy and security is also continuing at an extraordinary pace. Witness the inability of governments to shut down many services such as file sharing and money transfer. I honestly don't think that governments are going to be able to gain the control that they are dreaming about. So far, despite their almost bottomless resources to bring to the problem, they have just managed to look ignorant. Certainly, their best effort to date is unimpressive. I think there's hope for the future of the internet.
While it is disheartening to see all this government interference, we can take comfort in knowing that the internet is in a constant state of flux and while we all use the web as it currently exists, there is no real reason to do so other than it is easy because it is ubiquitous. Once the wider web is a corporate and government sanitized and monitored shadow of its former self we will transition to something else, be that an internet within the internet or heavily encrypted and anonymised client access or a combination thereof, be glad that the government will be forever playing catch up.
Yes, the Republicans in the America certainly hate the Internet. Its been, as we knew, a great method for easily disseminating information about their presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, and may be the biggest factor in his expected lose.
prime minister stephen harper of Canada will be pushing the Russian system as an example of a virtuous and well run system as he loves democracy as much as vladimir putin and mitt romney.
Over-reaction, much?
"1984 is a joke compared to this."
Yeah, because Russia having an internet ban-list is far, far worse than putting a camera in everyone's house, torturing people with rats, editing the native language down to control people's minds and editing people out of history.
Though we're busy editing Savile out of history at present. Obviously you're up in arms about that too.
'"The government's resources are finite, but the internet is endless," party founder Stanislav Shakirov told RIA.'
That may be, Stanislav, but one of the resources that the government *does* have is the ability to hire people to break your hands in 20 places.
And on that note, to the guys moaning about how it's the same everywhere and we're doomed, etc etc - no, it's not the same everywhere. Even in Australia you can - as far as I'm aware - excoriate the government in print without being beaten within an inch of your life and then thrown in prison for slander when you ID the guys who did it. In the UK you can still play punk music while trespassing in a church without being thrown in jail indefinitely without charges.
You know what WILL be the end of us, though? Whiny, woe-is-us bitching about how every country out there is just like Russia, or China, or Iran, and how democracy is an illusion and we're not free and blah, blah, blah. You're free enough to complain about it. You're free enough to tell your government where to stick it without being hauled off to the gulag, beaten to a pulp, or getting your wife's little finger sent to you FedEx.
If you're worried about it, fine. If you think we might be on the path to that level of oppression, maybe you're right. But we're not there yet. Democracy, flawed as its various implementations are, is still a hell of a lot better than China (where they don't bother pretending) or Russia (where they bald-facedly lie about the numbers in an incredibly obvious way).
If you're worried about it, great. Go do something about it. Get off your sorry, hopeless ass and use whatever freedom you HAVE got to try to prevent the -rest- of it from going away. Sniveling about how it's infinitely bad everywhere belies either complete ignorance, or is an excuse to do nothing about something important.
I'm not entirely convinced about your defence of our Western democracies, but I strongly endorse your last paragraph:
If you're worried about it, great. Go do something about it. Get off your sorry, hopeless ass and use whatever freedom you HAVE got to try to prevent the -rest- of it from going away. Sniveling about how it's infinitely bad everywhere belies either complete ignorance, or is an excuse to do nothing about something important.
Indeed, insight and motivation is what it will take to change the world. Those that only have one of those, or perhaps neither, are the ones that will bring us down.
David W, you've said beautifully what I have been thinking for a while - the West isn't perfect, but it's light-years ahead of most other places in the world.
My wife and I are both immigrants to the UK from different countries, neither of which were free societies thirty years ago. When I hear native Brits complaining about about how the UK is just as bad as China or Russia, I want to shake them by the shoulders and say "HAVE YOU REALLY THOUGHT THAT THROUGH?!"
The UK and other countries that espouse democracy may not be at the level of surveillance of many countries but the trend toward the surveillance society is alarming. I do certainly agree with you in that there are many countries that are worse, harder to live in.
" When I hear native Brits complaining about about how the UK is just as bad as China or Russia, I want to shake them by the shoulders and say "HAVE YOU REALLY THOUGHT THAT THROUGH?!" "
I want to put them on a 'plane to China/Iraq/Saudi/Russia, and let them see what having no rights to Free Speech/Equality/Protest/Vote *really* means.
You don't really appreciate the value of living in a decent country until you've lived in a sh!t one.
I wonder if The Register is on their blacklist? If not, then I hope they see my post in Russia. My site, threadthat.com, will not be on that list because it is not well known, yet it is a powerful tool in the war on privacy. Free end-to-end encryption with user-controlled pass keys to protect all messages and files shared online. I hope it helps someone.
Russia's backslide into dictatorship is a sad thing to see, I still remember the feeling of hope and optimism that swept the world when the Berlin Wall fell. To think it was all unfounded is very sad.
But at least we can take something from Russia's example here, it shows the dangers of imposing draconian censorship laws under the tagline "But think of the children!". Those resisting such moves in the West can point to Russia as an example of such a law instead being used to suppress free speech and political discourse.
Russia's backslide was not and is not a forgone conclusion.
But fixing it will require a lot of people rethinking their prejudices, and so far they have shown little inclination to do so. It is the tolerance of socialist policies in our own countries, and particularly the moral equivalence exhibited by too many poster here at El Reg which has allowed it to happen. A return to the policies and attitudes of Ronnie Regan and Maggie Thatcher could reverse the slide.
I liked Bad Vlad for throwing those feminist pop singers into the gulag. It sent a strong message that the kind of man-hating bullshit prevalent in the West won't be tolerated in Russia. +1000 points.
However he loses that for pushing an internet censorship regime, and more so for using the think of the children excuse, which puts him on the same level as Conroy. -1000 points.
Since I despise censorship about as much as I despise feminism, I guess that puts Bad Vlad back to zero in my book. Which means he's still better than Conroy or Gillard, but I would no longer prefer him as a leader over say Nick Xenophon (who remains my favourite politician!)
Dumbtwats everywhere... all anyone ever needs to do is have a host list entry for bad/dangerous/unwanted URL's and IP addresses. Not at an ISP level but on the personal computer level. That's ALL that these "Net Nanny" programs do. (and you pay for a lousy text file?)
Now the kiddies are all "safe". That is until someone changes the URL or IP.
Blocking should be PERSONAL not public. Allowing any governmental agency of any kind to require censorship is asking for trouble and should be banned by the UN as "crimes against humanity".
Russia is becoming a feudal state now. Dictator/King Putin needs to be deposed as does any politician that thumps his/her chest crying to "protect the children" by censoring the Internet. Hell has a special place for good intentioned liars.
As a reply to Steve Roper mysogenistic comments about agreeing with Putin throwing "Pussy Riot" members into jail I say this:
May females everywhere put you on their personal Host List, your wang should turn black, dry up and fall off from permanent disuse and you should get a horrible disfiguring STD on your face.
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