Blacklisted bitcoin websites appeal against Russian Government censorship

Blacklisted bitcoin websites in Russia brought their case before a judge recently in order to turn over a decision that has limited domestic access to their domains. The hearing was attended by members of bitcoin news website BTCsec.com and exhibition company Smile Expo reportedly.

The Russian government, in turn, has filed a petition to dismiss a complaint submitted by two out of the six websites that are blocked in the country at present.

Smile Expo took the stance that it uses its website for the dissemination of information about its conferences, not digital currency in general, opposing the official argument. On the other hand, BTCsec argued that despite a standing proposal to ban the release of information on the technology, it is still free to discuss the topic openly.

"Cryptocurrency in Russia at the moment is not prohibited, and there is no reason to believe the information about them can't be spread in the territory of the Russian Federation," said Ivan Tikhon, a BTCsec spokesperson, told Russian-language bitcoin news site Forklog, adding that he believes the actions of the government are illegal.