Russia Bans Reddit Pages Over Drug Growing Discussion - BBC News

Cannabis plantImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

The block on some Reddit pages came about following discussions about ways to cultivate drugs

Russia has blocked access to some parts of social news site Reddit for "promoting" use of banned substances.

Several pages on the sites are believed to have been banned over a discussion about how to cultivate hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The Russian media watchdog initially planned to block the entire site if it got no response from Reddit.

Earlier in the week the same agency threatened to ban Reddit for discussions about growing marijuana.

Blogger registry

The block was enacted by Roskomnadzor - Russia's Federal service for the Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.

It had called for a block on pages posted two years ago about the best way to grow psilocybin mushrooms.

Roskomnadzor maintains the list of all sites banned in Russia and added Reddit to that roster at the behest of the country's national drug control agency, reported news site Meduza, external.

The agency also posted information about the block, external to its own page on Russia's VKontacte social network.

In that message, it said it had sent information about the ban to "multiple addresses" at Reddit but had received no response. It assumed the lack of response came about because the site was understaffed in August as people were on holiday.

However, it said, this was no excuse to "risk losing its entire audience" in Russia. It asked anyone with ties to Reddit's site administrators to let them know about its actions.

In a later message it thanked those that had got in touch with Reddit for their help in ensuiring the pages could no longer be seen in Russia.

Reddit is one of many organisations that Russia has banned or threatened recently. Google, Facebook and Twitter have all received stern reminders from Roskomnadzor about complying with the nation's laws on handing over data.

Last year, Russia brought in a law that placed restrictions on bloggers and forced those with an audience of more than 3,000 people to register with authorities.

More on this story

  • Google faces Android probe in Russia

    • Published18 February 2015
    Android
  • Russia beefs up anti-piracy laws

    • Published1 May 2015
    Piracy card
  • 'Draconian' Russian net law enacted

    • Published1 August 2014
    Moscow
  • Russia 'considers gay emoji ban'

    • Published31 July 2015
    Emojis

Top stories

  • Racism and 'poor' staff relationships factors in maternity care failings, report finds

    • Published2 hours ago
  • Live

    UK asylum claims drop slightly in 2025 as small boat arrivals rise by 13%

    • 4613 viewing
  • Cuba says it shot dead four people on US-registered speedboat

    • Published3 hours ago

More to explore

  • 'The second home ban has breathed new life into my village'

    Jennifer Hall is a woman in her 60s with short grey hair who is wearing a dark blue top with a pattern of lighter blue flowers and leaves. She is standing on the harbour wall at Beadnell and behind her you can see the arc of the coast.
  • Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian boy and stood around as he bled to death, video shows

    index image
  • 'Fear is everywhere': BBC reports from Mexican city turned into war zone by drug cartel feud

    A cartel member wearing a black balaclava looks into the camera, another - also wearing a balaclava, stands in the background.
  • There's a solution for e-bike parking chaos - but it's not problem-free

    A treated image of a Lime bike
  • Faisal Islam: Is the UK economy really turning a corner?

    Rachel Reeves smiles while pointing to a large purple chart on a screen,  which shows Octopus energy prices and months. The chart appears to show prices falling.
  • Yungblud festival goes international, but not everyone's convinced

    Yungblood topless on stage with a microphone with a green background
  • Watch: Moment a sinkhole in Omaha traps cars and drivers

    CCTV shows moment cars engulfed by sinkhole
  • Shot in school uniform: BBC reveals police order led to Gen Z protest killings

    A digitally edited collage featuring three main elements: on the left, a blurred person in motion wearing a black shirt with stylized white text against an ornate red background; in the center, a large black pirate flag displaying the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger from One Piece with a pink skull wearing a striped straw hat; and on the right, a grayscale figure with a blurred face wearing a white shirt and floral garlands. The overall color scheme is dominated by red and black tones.
  • Politics Essential: Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox every weekday

    Politics Essential logo showing Houses of Parliament against a red background

Elsewhere on the BBC

  • The 1994 figure skating scandal that shocked the world

    Storyville: The Price of Gold
  • Are passengers ready for digital borders?

    Business Daily
  • The messy, tender comedy about Freya and Abe

    We Might Regret This
  • Comedy legend Slim rewinds to his teenage years

    Stand-Up Specials: Slim's Guide to Life

Most read

  1. 1

    'The second home ban has breathed new life into my village'

  2. 2

    Cuba says it shot dead four people on US-registered speedboat

  3. 3

    Earth's heat to power 10,000 homes in renewable energy first for UK

  4. 4

    Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian boy and stood around as he bled to death, video shows

  5. 5

    Gorton and Denton by-election polls open

  6. 6

    Racism and 'poor' staff relationships factors in maternity care failings, report finds

  7. 7

    Royal Mail bosses to be called to Parliament over letter delivery failures

  8. 8

    Young people out of work, training and education edges closer to one million

  9. 9

    There's a solution for e-bike parking chaos - but it's not problem-free

  10. 10

    Yungblud festival goes international, but not everyone's convinced

Tag » What Are Shrooms Like Reddit