The issue of the possible blocking of websites in Ukraine after the adoption of Draft Law #6688 “On Introducing Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Concerning Counteraction to National Security Threats in the Field of Information” remains open.

What has raised the public concern? What are the chances of the bill being passed? Who can block websites in Ukraine, and in what circumstances? Opinion.biz has asked these questions to Olena Drozdova, Director of Drozdova & Partners Law Firm.

The expert has noted that the changes envisaged by the bill may affect not only individuals, but also legal entities, and in both cases this will have negative implications.

“The Draft Law introduces changes which affect both individuals and legal entities. For individuals, these negative implications will be that their right to collect, receive and disseminate information recognized as dangerous by controlling authorities will be expressly restricted (even though the law does not expressly define either this information or the criteria for evaluating the “danger” posed by such information) and that in the process of tracking and catching the distributors of such content, governmental authorities will also track ordinary users. In fact, this constitutes a violation of a range of individual human rights.

As regards organizations providing Internet services and running websites and social networks, the Draft Law will, first, hit their pockets and, second, altogether undermine their operations because it provides that they will, first, have to install the respective expensive equipment at their own cost and, second, will constantly face failures, breakdowns and inspections that will become inevitable if the Draft Law is passed,” Olena Drozdova said.

Assessing the results of the blocking of [Russian social media sites] VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and Yandex, the expert has said that such blocking was, at the time, politically motivated, but it has remained on the conscience of users whether they actually stop using such websites or not, as some of them have shifted to new platforms, while others have simply signed up to VPN services.

Read full comments here.