The Bad Word Database

Published by

Clarissa

May 6, 2014

The Russian authorities are developing software that will scan blogs and other online resources for bad words and obscene pictures. A blogger whose posts and comment threads (even ones from years ago) contain curse words will be closed down and the blogger will face varying degrees of punishment.

Obviously, a popular and prolific blogger can’t reread all of her or his posts and comment threads dating back to the time the blog was established and censor them for bad words. At the same time, even if the blogger were to undertake that time-consuming assignment, it is very easy for anybody to leave any number of swear comments to old posts at any given time, turning the unsuspecting blogger on whose blog such comments are left into a criminal. This is the perfect way of shutting down blogs and persecuting independent journalists.

Rate this:

4 responses to “The Bad Word Database”

j.

May 6, 2014

is there a correlation between the impressive number of russian obscenities and their legal proscription?

LikeLike

Reply
1. Clarissa
  
  May 6, 2014
  
  “is there a correlation between the impressive number of russian obscenities and their legal proscription?”
  
  – Yes, definitely. Since everybody uses these words, it’s easy to close anybody’s blog. Anybody who says anything not completely laudatory of Putin can be condemned.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
twicerandomly

May 6, 2014

I believe something like this already exists. It supposedly will prevent your children from accessing inappropriate websites. However, it’s actually hard to do this well, and appropriate websites end up being blocked while inappropriate ones sneak through. So I imagine this would just result in all blogs being shut down. I suppose that’s the point. Although it seems unnecessary, when Putin’s approval rating (among Russians) is so high. Why do something like this which will just annoy people?

LikeLike

Reply
1. Stille (@aperfectbalance)
  
  May 6, 2014
  
  Because it’ll only get enforced against people that bother Putin&co, and at the moment Putin can easily take any possible approval hit he might get from this.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply

Clarissa's Blog