London – After censoring local and foreign newspapers and even a newspaper education platformRussia turned its attention to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia: a court in the country sued the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns the platform, to remove all “false” content about the war in Ukraine.
The foundation was fined 5 million rubles (approximately R$330,000) and contested the decision, claiming that “the information on Wikipedia should be protected by freedom of expression and does not constitute disinformation,” as the Russian government claimed in the case.
The Wikimedia Foundation said in a press release that it will not remove war-related information from Ukraine, as part of its commitment to providing free information to the world and because it understands that Russia does not have legislative authority over the platform. residing abroad..
Wikipedia challenges censorship in Russia
Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, the crackdown on the media, social networks and websites has increased in Russia.
The government of President Vladimir Putin is desperately trying to control what information the population has access to about the conflict, which the country’s authorities call a “special operation”.
parliament in march Passed a law punishable by up to 15 years in prison Anyone who discloses any narrative about the invasion that is not approved by the Kremlin.
Unauthorized information began to be classified as “fake news”. Media companies, journalists, and even individual bloggers were persecuted.
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The Moscow Court convicted the Wikimedia Foundation, a US-based philanthropic organization based in San Francisco, of administrative violation for failing to remove “banned” information from Wikipedia, all largely related to the Russian occupation. Ukraine.
On June 6, the foundation, which owns Wikipedia and other free content distribution initiatives, filed an appeal to challenge the Russian court’s decision:
“The information in question is factual and verified by volunteers who constantly edit and improve the articles on the site; therefore, its removal would constitute a violation of people’s rights to freedom of expression and access to information.”
According to the foundation, the Russian government is calling for the pages to be removed from the country: Russian Invasions of Ukraine (2022), Black Gunpowder, the Battle of Kyiv, War Crimes During Russia’s Occupation of Ukraine, Bombing of the Hospital in Mariupol, Bombing of the Mariupol Theater and in Bucha Massacre.
“The call follows a growing number of calls by the Russian government to censor fact-based information on Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects during the government’s invasion of Ukraine.”
According to the Russian court’s decision, information on Wikipedia is considered disinformation, which poses a “risk of mass disruption of public order” in the country.
In addition, the court stated that the Wikimedia Foundation operates on the territory of Russia and therefore must comply with Russian law.
We filed an appeal to appeal the Moscow Court’s decision that the Foundation had committed a crime by refusing to remove “prohibited” information. @Wikipedialargely related to the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine. #ForFreeInfo (1/6) https://t.co/jzbk6oNr7x pic.twitter.com/eyXi0Izi6J
— Wikimedia Foundation (@Wikimedia) 13 June 2022
The Russian government has no authority over Wikipedia
In the defense presented by the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization refutes its claim that the Russian government must comply with the laws of the country.
The organization notes that this announcement is part of “a growing trend of companies and websites being asked to form legal entities in the country, placing users, employees and equipment under the jurisdiction of the Russian government, and making it easier to request removal of content. from their platforms. ”
In addition to arguing that the Russian government’s request to remove information from Wikipedia constitutes a human rights violation, the Wikimedia Foundation’s appeal alleges that Russia does not have any jurisdiction over the company.
“Describing Wikipedia as operating on Russian soil mischaracterizes the global nature of its model.
Wikipedia is a global resource available in over 300 languages. All language versions, including the Russian Wikipedia, are available to anyone in any country in the world.”
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With the mass blocking of national and international websites, Wikipedia in Russia is one of the few sources of information available to Russians.
According to the organization, its blocking will affect more than 145 million users in the country.
“Government directs vital information into people’s lives in times of crisis. We urge the court to reconsider in favor of everyone’s right to access information and freedom of expression,” Wikimedia Foundation General Counsel Stephen LaPorte said in a press release.
“The Wikimedia Foundation is committed to defending the right of everyone to freely access and share information.
We have not followed any orders from the Russian government to date, and we will continue to fulfill our mission of providing free information to the world.”
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source: Noticias
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