MOSCOW, November 21 (RIA Novosti) - YouTube, the video-sharing website, has been take off the blacklist maintained by Russian media and communications watchdog Roscomnadzor.
YouTube was put on the blacklist (zapret-info.gov.ru) earlier on Wednesday and had three days to remove what Roscomnadzor said were “suicide promotion” materials. Failure to do that would have led to YouTube’s blocking across Russia.
In early November Roscomnadzor blacklisted over 180 websites over offensive content.
The law to create a register of blacklisted websites, that aims to protect Russians from harmful content, was approved by the Russian parliament in July.
Under this law, the authorities can now block access to sites containing child porn, drug-related material and details about how to commit suicide without first having to obtain a court order or go to court.
Other sites containing offensive material can be shut down by court order.
The agency launched its register of blacklisted sites on November 1.
The site reviews complaints lodged by members of the public, who can submit screenshots and URLs of the offending sites.
Rights groups condemned the move as an attempt to crack down on internet freedom.
