MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. A vast majority of Russians believe that access to outlawed content on the Internet must be restricted, as follows from a VTsIOM-Sputnik opinion poll uploaded to the pollster’s website on Tuesday.
"An absolute majority of Russians believe that information about weapons, explosives and instructions how to make them from makeshift materials must be restricted (91%). As many respondents are for restricting access to calls for joining radical and extremist organizations and movements 91%)," the news release runs.
One in ten respondents believes that restrictions should also apply to calls for joining religious sects (89%) and information about suicides (88%). Restrictions on access to pornographic content and scenes of violence in video and computer games are supported by 84% and 82% of the respondents respectively. Three quarters of Russians believe it will make sense to restrict access to obscene vocabulary (74%) and information about financial pyramids (73%).
Eleven percent of the polled are for freedom of information on the Internet and 60% believe that restrictions on access should depend on the nature of the content in question. Most respondents agree that outlawed content on the Internet must be fought against, while 44% are unable to assess the current policies against the spread of negative information on the Internet, being conducted by government and non-government agencies.
Two thirds of the respondents (65%) do not react to control of the Internet as an infringement on their personal freedom, while 30% adhere to the opposite point of view. Most Russians (87%) would not participate in mass protests against tighter control of the worldwide web.
The VTsIOM-Sputnik opinion poll was held on March 7. The pollsters questioned an audience of 1,600 men and women of age. The maximum margin of error was no greater than 2.5% with a 95% probability.