The National Council for Electronic Media (NEPLP) has decided to restrict access in Latvia to the Russian trading platform Wildberries and a number of other websites. Authorities believe that the content posted on these resources may pose a threat to the information space and national security of the country.
Access to the Russian trading platform Wildberries, as well as several other popular Russian internet resources, will be blocked in Latvia. This decision was made by the National Council for Electronic Media (NEPLP).
Information about this was published in the official publication "Latvijas Vēstnesis".
According to the council's decision, goods with symbols related to Russia, the Soviet Union, and Russia's war against Ukraine were identified on the Wildberries platform.
In addition to Wildberries, the restrictions will also affect a number of Russian websites, including informational, sports, and book resources. The list includes companies.rbc.ru, Championat.com, Sovsport.ru, Labirint.ru, LiveLib.ru, v1.ru, and ast.ru.
The NEPLP believes that these internet resources disseminate content that justifies Russian military aggression against Ukraine, supports Russian claims to occupied Ukrainian territories, and contributes to the formation of a positive attitude towards Russian state policy.
It is important to note that the blocking will affect not only the main website addresses but also their mirror copies. This means that providers will have to restrict access to alternative versions of the resources created to circumvent the blocks.
Internet providers have been instructed to immediately begin implementing the decision. When attempting to access the blocked websites, users will be redirected to a special information page of the project "nelegalssaturs.lv".
The NEPLP has been making such decisions regularly since the beginning of the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine. Earlier, access to dozens of Russian TV channels, news portals, and other internet resources had already been restricted in Latvia.
The council's decision can be appealed in the Administrative District Court within a month. However, even if an appeal is filed, the blocking takes effect immediately and remains in force until a court decision is made.
Thus, the list of Russian internet resources that are restricted in Latvia has expanded again and now includes one of the largest trading platforms in the region.
It is worth noting that on September 21, 2021, the Wildberries store officially announced its entry into the markets of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, but after February 2022, active operations in the Baltics were curtailed. The trading platform belongs to Tatyana Kim. This year, she ranks second among the richest people in Russia with a capital of $8.1 billion.
