The Russian news site Znak.com has won a lawsuit against Roskomnadzor, the Internet and telecom regulator which illustrated itself recently by its failed attempts to block access to Telegram.
As reported by Meduza.io, Roskomnadzor accused Znak.com of publishing a video that contained obscene language. Znak.com produced phonoscopic evidence establishing the absence of any foul words in the video, convincing a Yekaterinburg district court judge to throw out the charges brought by Roskomnadzor, which didn’t bother to send any representatives to the trial.
In December 2016 and November 2017, Roskomnadzor issued warnings to the magazine The New Times for publishing obscenities, reminds Meduza.io. In April 2018, the agency sued the radio station Ekho Moskvy for posting a hyperlink to a video that contained swear words, resulting in a 20,000-ruble ($320) fine. The station’s online editor was hit with a separate 5,000-ruble ($80) fine.
Earlier this spring, Roskomnadzor started enforcing another court decision to block Gay.ru for “gay propaganda.” This website, launched more than 20 years ago, subsequently filed an appeal with Khakassia’s Supreme Court against the Altai District Court’s decision to add them to Russia’s Internet blacklist.
Meanwhile, as reported by EWDN, a Russian court decided to ban a website, Parni+ (‘Guys+’), triggering another controversial procedure. This site, which provides the gay community with medical and social information about AIDS, was accused of “containing forbidden information that denies family values and promotes non-traditional sexual relationships,” according to Roskomnadzor.
