Duma proposal to ban swearing on websites.

[Flying Purple People Eater]

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/27/russia_aims_to_bans_swear_words_on_the_web_partner/


A new proposal seeks to block sites with foul language as a means of protecting the country's youth
BY KEVIN MORRIS
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TOPICS: THE DAILY DOT, RUSSIA, INTERNET, SWEAR WORDS, INTERNET BLACKLIST, TECHNOLOGY NEWS, LIFE NEWS, NEWS, POLITICS NEWS

Russia aims to ban swear words on the web
(Credit: Vladimir Koletic / Shutterstock.com)
This article originally appeared on The Daily Dot.
The Daily Dot

Russian politicians are dead set on redefining the term “nanny state.” The latest target in their war to protect the nation’s youth: bad words on the Internet.

Under a new proposal before the State Duma, sites that host swear words may be blocked from the Russian Web if they fail to remove the offending pages within 24 hours. The legislation would dramatically expand the scope of the country’s controversial “blacklist law,” which blocks sites hosting a few specific types of content deemed harmful to minors—namely, child porn and information on drugs and suicide.

But are swear words really on par with child pron and suicide guides? Yelena Mizulina, chairwoman of the duma’s Committee on Family, Women and Children, and the proposal’s author, sure thinks so. According to Mizulina, the Internet, with its bottomless pits of nasty word sludge and toxic troll droppings, is convincing kids that bad language is normal.

“We receive very many complaints from parents on the excessive amount of abusive language in Internet publications and social networks visited by children,” she said, according to Russian newspaper Izvestia.

Then, in a backhanded insult to vodka-swilling uncles across Russia, she added, “Parents are concerned that their children may develop a wrong stereotype that using obscene language in communication is normal, which is actually far from being the case.”

Before you laugh this whole thing off, keep inmind that Mizulina actually has a solid track record passing draconian legislation she says is good for the kids. Just last month, citing fears that deviant sexual behavior was forcing a “a distorted perception of social equality” on Russia’s youth, shepushed a ban “homosexual propaganda” through the duma. Violators face a $31,000 fine.

Welcome to your new home, Edward Snowden!

Think of the children! :rolleyes:

[Jimmie Higgins]

What the Fuck!



...sorry, had to do it just to get it out of the way.

Anyway, do folks think there is something deeper going on here (and with similar moves in other countries) or is it just a moral crusade?

[Polaris]

Are you fucking kidding me? Please don't tell me that this is likely to pass...

Anyway, do folks think there is something deeper going on here (and with similar moves in other countries) or is it just a moral crusade?
It could just be a 'moral crusade,' but it is also possible that it is an attempt to suppress the thoughts of those most likely to be using curse words in the first place: working class people of low-income and lower education levels. I can also see this backfiring horribly when there is a situation in which it is necessary to quote someone using curse words is order to get the full picture of a situation; for example, if this bill is passed, journalists won't be able to report on exactly which words are banned and will have to edit out or not publish those using curse words. And again, most of the people that would use curse words when talking to a media outlet would be those that have a 'lower status' by society's standards, so this is just anther way to block certain demographic's (read: low income people's) opinions.

This really is not right. Not only does it infringe on the freedom to use whatever damn words you wish (as long as said words do not contribute to the oppression of others as do sexist, racist, and homophobic slurs), but also suggests that children are helpless creatures who do not have adequate thought processes of their own that can determine what words they shall and shall not use. If someone has a problem with the words someone is using to express themselves, then they can just walk away/press that little red 'X' in the corner there and not force their views of what is appropriate language onto others.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Yeah, any measure like this could be used against specific dissent - and in particular it could be used to repress sexual minorities like bans on porn have done in other places (i.e. straight porn is treated lightly but the full weight of the restriction is selectivly applies). But it also seems like Russia doesn't have too much difficulty in useing more direct legal restrictions on political speech or sexual minorities. But I don't know enough about Russia to say, so I'm just curious about it.

[OHumanista]

The russian elite is on a shit rampage it seems.
Time for some extra protests, this time with lots of swearing.

[Flying Purple People Eater]

Won't people just get around the censors with new swearwords?

I mean, isn't that how swearwords appeared in the first place? To get around taboo terms?