A Moscow court has ordered the blocking of Russian opposition politician and anticorruption campaigner Aleksei Navalny's Smart Voting website.
The Taganka District Court ruled on December 19 that the site has to be blocked because it did not provide users with an option not to agree to process their personal data, which Judge Olga Sinelnikova ruled was a violation.
The lawsuit against Navalny's site was filed by Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, which said it violates regulations on filing and processing of the Internet users' personal data.
Navalny launched the Smart Voting site in November and its goal is to establish how many Russians actually support the ruling United Russia party.
Navalny's attorney said at the hearing that all users of the site were informed about the fact that their personal information is collected, adding that all possible glitches on the site had been removed and there is no need to block it.
Navalny on his personal website called the hearing "a clown's show" and called users of the Internet to register with his Smart Voting site.
"I stress once again: This kind of impulsive blockage indicates that the Kremlin is scared of the Smart Voting. That means you have to take part. Register right now. We will have to use VPN and various proxy sites [to avoid the blockage], but we will find a technical way to resolve the problem," Navalny wrote.
