Moscow, December 19, 2013
"We consider that at the present time the political and ideological struggle has moved mainly to information networks, and, first of all, to the largest of existing networks—the Internet. The huge number of users, the speed of information dissemination, and the relative absence of control of its distribution make the Internet an ideal environment for destructive forces," said the club in a statement that was passed on to Interfax-Religion.
As the authors have noted, various extremist organizations, terrorist groups, and sects are very active in virtual space. There they propagate their ideas and recruit followers, and "the main target of such manipulations is the youth".
"We believe the regulation in this sphere to be an important public and federal task, in spite of pseudo-democratic calls not to encroach upon this, as it seems to many, only free sphere of human life. However, it is obvious that this sphere can be free neither from moral norms and laws, nor from crimes, sin and vice. Like any public sphere, it requires social control," read the document.
At the same time, the club considers that should the new bill be enacted, it must not become an instrument for struggle between the powers that be, and especially not a mechanism of harsh political punishments.
