April 24, 2019 

 Russian President Vladimir Putin should not sign a bill that would give the government broad capacity to block access to the internet and to censor content offered by Internet Service Providers. Human Rights Watch joined Article 19 and 8 other human rights and nongovernmental groups in opposing the bill.

The bill has been approved by Russia’s parliament, but still needs Putin’s signature to become law.

“This bill creates dangerous infrastructure that would give the authorities even greater control over the internet in Russia, without transparency or oversight,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “They could more easily and often block access to content or even turn Russia’s internet into a closed system at the touch of a button, without telling the public what they are doing or why.”