Half of Russians in favor of online censorship, 58% okay with full Internet shutdown - poll

03.08.201509:13

In case of a national threat or mass protests, up to 60% of Russians would support complete Internet shutdown in the country, a report prepared by the Russian Center for Public Opinion Studies (VTsIOM) and the Center for Global Communication Studies at the University of Pennsylvania says.

Almost half of Russians believe that online information should be censored, 58% support complete Internet shutdown in the country in case of a national threat of a possibility of mass protests, and 73% believe that negative information about civil servants should not be posted online.

53% of interviewees say that the Internet has positive effect on their lives while a third od respondents do not agee saying that the effect is negative

According to the survey, only 11% of Russians (approximately every tenth person) believe the Internet should be completely free from government censorship. On the other hand, 49% of those polled said censorship had to be present online.

Adult residents of 42 Russian regions took part in the survey which was conducted by personal interviewing. The statistical discrepancy is 3.1 – 4 %.