The free and open encyclopedia Wikipedia has been fined for not following Russian demands on content relating to the war in Ukraine.
The outcome was predictable. News agencies report on Tuesday, April 26 the decision of a Moscow court condemning the Wikimedia Foundation to a fine of several million rubles (tens of thousands of euros) for not having deleted passages in the Wikipedia encyclopedia deemed “inaccurate” according to the official Russian account of the war in Ukraine.
Seven articles in question on Wikipedia in Russian
According to Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, administrator of the French version of Wikipedia, seven articles were targeted two relating to explosives and five to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which is described as a “special military operation” inside Russian borders. Any other description is likely to trigger a fine or a prison sentence.
Other sanctions have been pronounced, he also observes. Facebook was fined 4 million rubles and TikTok 2 million. The subjects are quite different: the two social networks are accused of LGBT propaganda. A paradox at a time when lesbian visibility day is taking place elsewhere in the world, which sheds light on the difficulties they can face on the web.
The judgment rendered in Russia is subject to appeal, but nothing says that the verdict will be more favorable to the Wikimedia Foundation. The fine could then be increased and other financial sanctions are possible against the encyclopedia as long as the disputed content is not withdrawn – which is unlikely. The risk of the site being blocked cannot be ruled out.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the authorities have increased the pressure on Wikimedia. On March 31, the Russian telecoms regulator (Roskomnadzor) warned that Wikipedia will be held administratively responsible for failing to remove illegal information. On April 5, he again called on Wikipedia to remove inaccurate content.
The possibility of Wikipedia being blocked by the operators is a threat that Internet users deem sufficiently credible to take certain preventive measures now. Thus, the number of downloads of the encyclopedia to have it on the computer has literally exploded in Russia in recent weeks.
