Russian government may block Reddit over marijuana thread

MOSCOW, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The Russian government has threatened to block access to the link sharing website Reddit nationwide unless it deletes a thread that gives advice on how to grow marijuana.

This potential move follows similar threats made against YouTube and its recent blocking of Pirate Bay, an online index of digital content of entertainment media. Roskomnadzor, Russia's Internet watchdog group, announced it had asked Reddit to remove the thread, but has yet to receive a reply, reported Sky News.

The agency has created a "Wanted" poster to go with the message as it attempts to resolve the issue.

"Those who have contacts with the administration ask them to check their letters from Roskomnadzor, otherwise, due to technological features, many operators may block the whole site," read the notice. The Russian media watchdog group has already blocked a host of websites, including Wikipedia and a site for a Jehovah's Witnesses church.

Reddit's user agreement stipulates that it will "respond to legitimate requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and we retain the right to remove user content... that we deem to be infringing the copyright of others."

"It is conceivable that somebody became relaxed due to the August vacation season, but it's not a good reason to risk one's readers," the watchdog said in a statement published on a Russian social network, as reported by Russia Today.

Reddit has reached a monthly audience of over 55 million views, becoming one of the primary distributors of content online.