In Belarus, the procedure for restricting access to internet resources has been determined

26/02/20150 views

Belarus has established a procedure for restricting access to information resources (or their components) posted on the global internet. The corresponding resolution of the Operational and Analytical Centre (OAC) and the Ministry of Communications and Informatisation (MinSvyaz) No. 6/8 was published today on the National Legal Portal, according to BELTA.

The regulation provides for restricting access to information resources whose owners have received two or more written warnings from the Ministry of Information within a year. Furthermore, websites containing informational messages and/or materials aimed at the illegal trafficking of drugs, or other information prohibited or restricted from dissemination in accordance with the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus, as well as court decisions that have entered into legal force, will be blocked. Access will also be restricted to resources whose owners have failed to comply with a lawful demand from a state body to rectify violations of media legislation.

The restricted access list is compiled by the State Inspectorate of the Republic of Belarus for Telecommunication based on decisions made by the Ministry of Information, in cases and procedures established by legislative acts. Access to this list is granted to the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Communications and Informatisation, bodies carrying out operational-search activities, prosecution and preliminary investigation bodies, bodies of the State Control Committee, tax authorities, courts, and internet service providers. The State Inspectorate, in agreement with MinSvyaz, has the right to grant access to the aforementioned list to other state bodies and organisations in accordance with their competence defined by legislation.

State bodies and organizations, upon identifying violations, must send a written notification to the Ministry of Information, indicating the name and address of the resource, as well as the violated norms. Resource blocking can also occur on the initiative of citizens of Belarus; for this, they must send a request to the relevant department. If the Ministry of Information decides to block, it notifies the resource owner within three days, as well as the State Inspectorate for Telecommunication, which is obliged to include this site in the restricted access list on the day of receiving a copy of the notification. Providers must then block access within 24 hours.

The owner of a blocked internet resource, in case of rectifying legislative violations, has the right to submit a written request to the Ministry of Information for the restoration of access. The department verifies the rectification of violations within a month and, after coordination with the body that initiated the blocking, makes a decision on restoring access. If the decision is positive, the Ministry of Information is obliged to send a notification to the State Inspectorate for Telecommunication within three days, which will remove the resource from the list. After this, providers will be able to grant access to it.

This resolution enters into force after its official publication.

News of Belarus (BELTA)