Russia to fence kids off Internet

MOSCOW - Russian children below 10 years old must be denied Internet access and should surf the web only under adults' supervision, Russian minister for telecommunications Igor Shchegolev said on Thursday.

The minister, who attended the conference "Safe tomorrow of RuNet" held in the town of Urupinsk, said that the idea to limit the Internet access for the minors belonged to the users of RuNet, or the Russian-language sector of the global Web.

"I am happy that this initiative came from bloggers themselves and not from the government; otherwise the idea will be trampled," Igor Shchegolev said, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency.

He spoke in favor of English version of providing the children safety on the Internet that gave the parents full control over the content their kids may watch on the screens.

The minister called this version "promising".

"The more the society switches itself for web technology, the more threats emerge, including the criminals targeting children," he said.