Not known for its rigorous enforcement of intellectual property rules, Russia is beefing up its efforts to tackle "internet piracy."
A law, first introduced in 2013 to target pirated movies and shows, is now being extended to "cover sites that share links to pirated music, books and software," reports the BBC.
"This development will mean that the systematic violation of intellectual property rights will result in sites providing access to stolen content being blocked forever," State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak told Russian Media.
Critics, however, suspect the expansion has more to do with increasing state control over the 'net than aiding civil enforcement. The details of implementation also remain unclear.
"…the theory is that intermediaries (ISPs and webhosts) can be ordered by the Court to permanently block websites that continually host or provide access to infringing content," writes Andy at Torrentfreak.
"At least at this early stage it appears to be the kind of system U.S. copyright holders are pushing for elsewhere, one in which content that is taken down, stays down."
