Russia briefly bans Wikipedia over page relating to drug use

Shaun Walker in Moscow
Tuesday 25 August 2015 11.26 BST

Russian authorities briefly banned the entire Wikipedia site over a page relating to drug use which the site had refused to edit or delete.

The ban was quickly lifted on Tuesday, before it had even gone into effect for most Russian internet users but not before the news had created a wave of panic in the country’s online community. There is increasing concern in Russia about a crackdown on internet freedom.

A court in a small town in southern Russia ordered that a Wikipedia page about charas, an Indian form of hashish, be banned as it contained harmful information. Because Wikipedia uses secure https protocol, some internet providers would have to ban the entire website. Late on Monday night, some Moscow internet users found Russian-language Wikipedia banned entirely, while for others it was still working, with a message from the website explaining how to circumvent a ban if it did come into place.

In a statement on Tuesday, online watchdog Roskomnadzor said the decision to rescind the banning order came because the forbidden information about charas had been redacted. Wikipedia editors said the page remained the same.

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