MOSCOW, October 17 - RAPSI. The observance of a law aimed at protecting children from harmful information has thus far taken place without the assistance of experts, who remain to be appointed by the Federal Service for Telecom, IT and Mass Communications Supervision, deputy head Maxim Ksenzov said on Wednesday.
The experts will evaluate media content in terms of its acceptability for certain age categories. Media companies must assess and grade their own content based on their understanding of the law. Many media outlets have stated that the wording of the law is too vague.
"We will not have these experts for quite some time," Ksenzov said, adding that his service still has 70 days to find them.
The law came into force on September 1. It requires the media to assess and grade its content based on age restrictions. The bill has been a source of controversy. Some publications have held that its provisions are not formulated clearly. The mass media watchdog promised to analyze the law during the first month of its implementation and to amend it if necessary.
The bill was passed in December 2010 and signed into law by the president in early 2011. Under the law, media content will include age-sensitive restriction categories such as: "6+," "12+," "16+" and "18+." The "18+" category is meant to restrict information that presents a danger to life or inspires suicide, promotes unlawful behavior, drug, alcohol or tobacco use, prostitution, vagrancy or gambling, questions family values, or contains restricted language and pornography.