TSN took down news article due to Roskomnadzor’s threat to limit access to its website

The editorial office of the website TSN.ua received a message from Roskomnadzor (Federal Service For Supervision Of Communications, Information Technology, And Mass Media) demanding to remove a the piece about the initiative of activist Artem Loskutov to hold "March for Federalization of Siberia."

Roskomnadzor informed that the demand was made based on the order of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation as of 01.08.2014 No. 27-27-2014/Ід2520-14. They consider the article to contain calls for mass disorders, extremist activities, and participation in mass events that lead to violation of the established order.

 If the article stayed available Roskomnadzor threatened to block access to the news media outlet’s website http://ru.tsn.ua. The editorial office decided that they want their Russian-speaking readership to have access to the website TSN.ua, so they removed the article.

Similar demands were received in at least 14 other media outlets, among which "Polit.Ru", Regnum, "Novy Region", "Rosbalt", and Slon.Ru. The groups that supported the march in the social networks were blocked. The Russian politician Boris Nemtsov pointed out that this is the Russian government fighting against separatism.