Editing LiveJournal (section)

=== Russian jurisdiction ===
On April 4, 2017, LiveJournal significantly modified its [[terms of use]], making the service subject to Russian law. The new terms prohibit users from posting "advertising and/or political solicitation materials" or performing any actions "contradictory to the laws of the Russian Federation". The terms also state that users are subject to Article 10.2 of the Federal Act of the Russian Federation No. 149, which dictates that blogs with more than 3,000 daily visitors are classified as media outlets and may not be published anonymously, are responsible for the dissemination of unverified information, and are restricted from posting pornography, obscene language, or "extremist materials".<ref name="nyt-bloggerlaw">{{cite web|title=Russia Quietly Tightens Reins on Web With 'Bloggers Law'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/world/europe/russia-quietly-tightens-reins-on-web-with-bloggers-law.html?_r=0|website=The New York Times|date=7 May 2014|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=19 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519143918/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/world/europe/russia-quietly-tightens-reins-on-web-with-bloggers-law.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ru-tos">{{cite web|script-title=ru:Пользовательское соглашение|url=http://www.livejournal.com/legal/tos-ru.bml|publisher=SUP Media|access-date=6 April 2017|language=ru|archive-date=5 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405211154/http://www.livejournal.com/legal/tos-ru.bml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bbc-draconianlaw">{{cite news|title=Russia enacts 'draconian' law for bloggers and online media|work=BBC News|date=31 July 2014|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28583669|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407055604/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28583669|url-status=live}}</ref> Western media have described these laws as "draconian" and restricting free expression.<ref name="nyt-bloggerlaw"/><ref name="bbc-draconianlaw"/>

Additionally, only the Russian-language version of the terms of service are considered legally binding. The new terms prompted wide concern from users who believed that their content would now be targeted under [[Internet censorship in Russia|Russian censorship]] policies, including the country's [[Russian gay propaganda law|"gay propaganda" law]].<ref name="heavy-newtos">{{cite web|title=LiveJournal, Now Based in Russia, Bans "Political Solicitation" in New User Agreement|url=http://heavy.com/news/2017/04/livejournal-russia-censorship-bans-political-solicitation-usr-agreement/|website=Heavy.com|date=6 April 2017|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=6 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406180155/http://heavy.com/news/2017/04/livejournal-russia-censorship-bans-political-solicitation-usr-agreement/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dailydot-ljrussia">{{cite web|title=Users are fleeing LiveJournal over Russian owners' possible anti-LGBTQ terms|url=https://www.dailydot.com/irl/livejournal-users-anti-lgbtq/?tw=dd|website=The Daily Dot|date=6 April 2017|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407055122/https://www.dailydot.com/irl/livejournal-users-anti-lgbtq/?tw=dd|url-status=live}}</ref> This prompted an "exodus" to alternate platforms of groups who either support LGBT rights or wished to continue discussing those topics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boingboing.net/2017/04/08/six-to-end.html|title=Livejournal's Russian owners announce new anti-LGBT policy, fandom stages mass exodus|first=Cory|last=Doctorow|date=April 9, 2017|website=Boing Boing|access-date=July 8, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803151240/https://boingboing.net/2017/04/08/six-to-end.html|url-status=live}}</ref>