In Ukraine, a system has been launched that collects personal data of visitors to banned sites. Information is automatically recorded and transmitted to law enforcement agencies. In addition, a mechanism for auto-blocking objectionable Internet resources has been introduced. Experts say that residents of Ukraine will now be able to learn alternative news only from instant messengers. Details – in the material “Izvestia”.
Case for data
Since March 3, a new Internet control system has been launched in Ukraine, all providers in the country have connected to it. The main innovation is that now the data of users who visit prohibited sites are automatically collected. Information, including the time of entry and IP address, is transferred to law enforcement agencies. Another innovation is that it has become easier and easier for the authorities to block objectionable sites. The system automatically sends a list of objectionable addresses to all Ukrainian Internet providers every 15 minutes.
Photo: Global Look Press/Keystone Press Agency/Oleksii Chumachenko
It is officially stated that the system is needed to combat phishing, that is, fake sites that lure users’ personal data and money. It is reported that most often these are clones of Privatbank services and the state e-dopomoga program. The legal mechanism, the legal basis for the operation of the system, remains unclear. Obviously, it violates the basic rights and freedoms of citizens.
The Internet Association of Ukraine (InAU) said that the innovation opens the way to uncontrolled censorship. “The mechanism can be used to block an arbitrary number of Internet resources. It is difficult to overestimate the negative consequences for Ukraine if the enemy gains access to this mechanism. Under the pretext of countering phishing sites, a powerful threat is being laid, in fact, a “Trojan horse,” the association says in a statement. InAU adds that they twice appealed to the president, the government and the SBU with a request to cancel the implementation of the system, but the order remained in force.
Censorship tightens up again
The Ukrainian authorities are consistently cleaning up the information space. In 2014-2017, the country banned the broadcasting of all Russian TV channels, and also blocked the largest Russian websites and social networks. At the same time, the pressure on their own opposition resources did not stop. Officials threatened journalists for their “pro-Russian position” and the Russian language on the air, and activists attacked media workers. The largest incident occurred in 2019, when unknown people fired from a grenade launcher at the office of the 112 Ukraine TV channel.
Police officers work outside the building of the 112 Ukraine TV channel in Kyiv after shelling in July 2019
Photo: social networks
The next stage began in February 2021, when President Zelensky, by his decree, closed the largest opposition TV channels NewsOne, ZIK and the same 112 Ukraine. The decision was a direct violation of Ukrainian law, but it was not possible to challenge it in court. “The authorities leave on the air only convenient channels that will lie to the people about unprecedented successes,” the journalists said in a joint statement.
At the same time, on Zelensky’s personal order, the popular opposition website Strana.ia was blocked, and blogger Anatoly Shariy fell under the restrictions. “This is due to Zelensky’s use of potent drugs. I’m guessing cocaine mixed with alcohol, judging by his face. This is what is connected with this. Absolutely inadequate story,” said Shariy.
After the start of the Russian military operation, the information space was subjected to even greater regulation. With the help of the largest media holdings, the President’s Office launched the United News telethon, where presenters and experts actively promote Zelensky and his team, reporting on their successes. The structures of Petro Poroshenko refused to participate in the marathon, for which his channels Pyatiy, Pryamoy and Espresso were taken off the air. Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President’s Office, explained the decision as “excessive narcissism” of the former head of state.
Photo: Global Look Press/Keystone Press Agency/Igor Golovniov
The telethon has become the only source of social and political news for a significant part of the population. The current situation is extremely beneficial for the President’s office, because before the SVO, Zelensky’s team desperately lacked their own media resources. Sociologists note that viewers are gradually getting tired of the broadcast grid. According to one of the studiesthe highest ratings in the fall of 2022 were for TV channels that did not broadcast United News.
Control over information on the Internet has acquired the most sophisticated forms. Dozens of websites have been blocked, security raids have become regular, during which citizens’ phones are checked. “A reason for the slightest suspicion is <…> correspondence in various instant messengers condemning the current Ukrainian authorities, subscriptions to Russian channels on social networks, as well as the Telegram application installed on smartphones,” Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation, said. According to him, the detainees are tortured, threatened with violence against them and their relatives, as well as being transferred to the SBU.
Photo: Getty Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Alex Chan
At the end of last year, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a new law on the media. The document prohibits the publication of objective information about Russia. In the language of Ukrainian officials, this is called “positive coverage of the activities of the authorities of the aggressor state in order to popularize them.” The National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting also received the right to fine the media, send orders, block the work of Internet publications for a period of 14 days without a court order, require YouTube and Facebook (owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) to remove any content, and from Google — remove information from the search.
Society is far from monolithic
Experts say that the constant tightening of censorship indicates the difficult situation of the current Ukrainian authorities. “We constantly see news that SBU officers are arresting people who like the wrong place, wrote something, spoke in some kind of chat. This means that there are still dissatisfied people in Ukraine. Moreover, they have the courage to express dissatisfaction outside their own kitchen. The more critical the situation in the war zone becomes for Kyiv, the stricter censorship becomes, ”political analyst Dmitry Rodionov notes in an interview with Izvestia.
Photo: Global Look Press/dpa/Kay Nietfeld
Political scientist Oleksandr Dudchak says the Kiev regime portrays Ukrainian society as monolithic, but the reality is different. “We see how the conscripts run from the staff of the military registration and enlistment offices. Thousands of criminal and administrative cases are initiated against those who said something wrong on the Internet. There are still a lot of adequate people, ”the interlocutor emphasizes.
