MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) – Internet resources offering legal videos will generally remain free to users but will carry more advertising to generate revenue, telecoms regulator head Alexander Zharov said, as a controversial new anti-piracy law came into effect in Russia Thursday.
Advertising is a more promising avenue for websites to earn income from legal video content, which requires high quality, Zharov said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV.
The anti-piracy legislation, which was pushed through parliament in less than three weeks and comes into force on August 1, will allow copyright holders to get a Russian court to block access to allegedly pirated content as well as hyperlinks to such content. Whole websites can be blacklisted under the law, which appoints a single court in Moscow to handle all copyright-related complaints nationwide.
Zharov admitted that he had himself previously used dubious sources for downloading material, but changed his position after the anti-piracy law came into effect. “I’ll [now] use only legal resources,” he said.
Zharov said he hoped most providers would respond adequately to the telecom regulator’s requests to block or remove illegal content.
