Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Russia has just banned Wikipedia over an article about marijuana. Roscomnadzor, the arm of the Russian government tasked with policing media and the internet, has ordered Russian internet service providers to block the site.
The ban is due to a specific article about charas, a form of hashish that is handmade in India. According to Roscomnadzor's strict judgement, the page constitutes instructions on how to make the drug, which makes it illegal under Russian laws that prohibit sharing instructional drug-related information over the internet. Wikimedia.ru has declined to avoid the ban by removing the post.
Earlier this month, Russia briefly blocked the entirety of Reddit over a post about hallucinogenic mushrooms after Reddit refused to remove the post and HTTPS, which encrypts traffic between websites and users, prevented internet service providers from blocking only the specific page. Reddit and the Russian government eventually came to an agreement about blocking the offending thread.
Roscomnadzor has been threatening the ban of Wikipedia since last week, saying the following in a statement:
In the event that [Wikipedia] refuses to comply with the court's ruling, Roskomnadzor will block the webpage on Russian territory using the registry of illegal information. In this case, insofar as Wikipedia has decided to function on the basis of https, which doesn't allow restricting access to individual pages on its site, the entire website would be blocked.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Russia Blocks Wikipedia Because It Has Articles About Marijuana
Author: Eric Limer
Contact: Contact Us
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Website: Popular Mechanics - How Your World Works
The ban is due to a specific article about charas, a form of hashish that is handmade in India. According to Roscomnadzor's strict judgement, the page constitutes instructions on how to make the drug, which makes it illegal under Russian laws that prohibit sharing instructional drug-related information over the internet. Wikimedia.ru has declined to avoid the ban by removing the post.
Earlier this month, Russia briefly blocked the entirety of Reddit over a post about hallucinogenic mushrooms after Reddit refused to remove the post and HTTPS, which encrypts traffic between websites and users, prevented internet service providers from blocking only the specific page. Reddit and the Russian government eventually came to an agreement about blocking the offending thread.
Roscomnadzor has been threatening the ban of Wikipedia since last week, saying the following in a statement:
In the event that [Wikipedia] refuses to comply with the court's ruling, Roskomnadzor will block the webpage on Russian territory using the registry of illegal information. In this case, insofar as Wikipedia has decided to function on the basis of https, which doesn't allow restricting access to individual pages on its site, the entire website would be blocked.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Russia Blocks Wikipedia Because It Has Articles About Marijuana
Author: Eric Limer
Contact: Contact Us
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Website: Popular Mechanics - How Your World Works
