MOSCOW, June 27 (RAPSI) - Russian Internet companies have published an open letter against the anti-piracy bill, which the upper house of parliament approved on Wednesday. 

The letter was posted on the website of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC). 

The letter was signed by Mail.ru Group, Yandex, Afisha-Rambler-SUP, Google Russia, Ozon.ru, the Web Publishers Association and RAEC, among others. 

"We believe that the mechanisms set out in the bill must be reviewed, taking into account the interests of the Russian media and online businesses and based on a comprehensive analysis of the economic and social consequences," the letter reads.

According to its authors, the bill has numerous loopholes for abuse and unfair competition. Preventive blocking of access to an online resource on suspicion of violation of copyright poses considerable danger for legal startup services and information brokers.

"There is modern technology that will enable pirates to circumvent blocks. At the same time, the bill poses a major threat to the operation of legal resources, primarily the media," the letter says. 

The document also points to the scale of the Internet industry in Russia: the Internet and related economic systems account for 4.62% of the country's GDP, with an annual increment of up to 30% for key figures. 

Russia's Internet sector is the fourth largest in the world in terms of investment, the largest in Europe in terms of number of users and the world's fastest growing advertising market.

The Federation Council of Russia's parliament on Wednesday approved a bill enabling the blocking of websites which distribute movies and TV films in violation of copyright.

It sets out the legal grounds and the procedure for limiting access to websites that distribute movies and TV films in violation of copyright. The bill also sets out the rules for bringing to account or condoning information brokers (Internet and hosting providers). 

The final wording of the law does not include music.