Elena Sherstoboeva Ph D Associate Professor Dept of

Elena Sherstoboeva – Ph. D, Associate Professor, Dept. of Media, HSE esherstoboeva@hse. ru Recent Trends in the Regulation of the New Media in Russia

Press Freedom Index, 2015, Reporters Without Boarders

Public Support of Censorship � 54% of Russians supports the Internet censorship (Levada, 2014)

The Evolution of the Mass Media Law in Russia � 1990 -1991 – first mass media laws � 1992 -1995 – media institutionalization and deregulation � 1996 -1999 – information wars, no developments for the mass media law �Since 2000 – strengthening the state control �since 2011 – the new media regulation, active formation of the mass media law

3 Directions for the Regulation of the New Media � Regulation of the new media as a form � Regulation of online media content � Regulation of access to the media

Regulation of the new media as a form � 2011 – “web publications” introduced to the Mass Media Law The only criteria is registration with Roskomnadzor Registration is voluntary (The decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, “On the Practice of Application of the Statute of the Russian Federation, On Mass Media, by Courts, ” of June 15, 2010) � 2014 – “blogger’s” statute Criteria is number of visitors per day (more than 3, 000) Must undergo a registration procedure Bloggers have the same duties as journalists but less rights

Regulation of the content � Anti-extremists & anti-terrorist laws Out of court blocking for calls for extremism and calls for participation in mass public events unsanctioned by authorities � Protection of morals Web publications must contain age grading Ban on propaganda of untraditional sexual relationship Ban on obscene lexis in the media & blogs � Defamation Recriminalization of libel Deletion of untrue information even though it is not defamatory Ban on religious insult � Privacy Deletion of private information Storage of personal data in Russia The right to be forgotten

Regulation of access � The freedom to access Internet “anyone can access messages and pictures comprising the content of websites from any place and at any time at one’s own choice if there is an availability of appropriate equipment and possibility for the Internet connection” (The decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, “On the Practice of Application of the Statute of the Russian Federation, On Mass Media, by Courts, ” of June 15, 2010)

Conclusion �There is no constitutional balance between the protection of media freedom & of other rights or interests �The state tries to establish the same level of control for the new media as established for the traditional media �The development of online media is seen as a threat to the regime �Self-censorship instead of self-regulation �Fosters legal nihilism in the industry