MOSCOW, September 8 (RAPSI) – Russia’s consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has blocked over 4,800 websites assisting and promoting suicide over the last two years, RIA Novosti reported on Monday.

The watchdog has inspected 5,015 websites since November 1, 2012. 4,872 websites (97%) were found to contain prohibited information.

Rospotrebnadzor also developed dialogue with the Internet community, including on the basis of agreements. The watchdog attracted scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, philologists and other experts to assessing information on suspect websites before a decision is made to blacklist them for containing prohibited information.

These experts also help Rospotrebnadzor prepare a guidance manual on assessing online information.

The blacklist, which was started on November 1, 2012, lists websites that contain prohibited information, such as child pornography, ways of committing suicide and drug-making instructions. Websites hosting this kind of information can be closed without a court decision.

A Russian law aimed at protecting children from “information harmful to their health and development,” which became effective in September 2012, stipulates that an automated register of domain names should be kept for purposes of identifying websites that contain prohibited information.