MOSCOW, May 17 (RAPSI) - Children's Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov and the head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Communications (Roskomnadzor) Alexander Zharov have signed an agreement on cooperation to protect children from information harmful to their health and development.

"Joining efforts will definitely help us protect children and above all their future," Astakhov said after signing the document on Friday.

He added that it is a framework agreement.

"There is a related law but the mechanisms for its application have not yet become fully operational," Astakhov said when commenting on the law on protecting children from information harmful to their health and development.

Alexander Zharov pointed out the "active cooperation within the framework of an expert commission on the implementation of the law."

The children's ombudsman added that an information campaign against violence and cruelty in the media will begin on June 1.

The law On 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 established for identifying websites which contain prohibited content, in particular, child pornography, ways of committing suicide and instructions on how to make drugs. If this kind of content is found, the website could be closed without a court order.

If a website contains other kinds of prohibited content, the decision to close it can only be issued by a court order.