( CNN ) -- Wikipedia once again is diving into Internet politics . The free encyclopedia on Tuesday temporarily shut down access to most of its Russian-language site in protest of proposed legal action in Russia that it says would result in Internet censorship . Visitors to ru.wikipedia.org on Tuesday saw a black censorship bar over the Wikipedia logo and a message asking them to imagine a world without free access to knowledge . In January , Wikipedia shuttered its English sites for 24 hours in protest of anti-piracy laws that were being discussed in the U.S. Congress . That action was cited as evidence of a new wave of political power for the technology and Internet industries . Google and others joined in that protest , which essentially derailed two anti-piracy bills in the United States . The Russian Wikipedia site compares proposed amendments to an `` On Information '' law to China 's hyper-restrictive firewall . If implemented , the changes to the law could result in access to Wikipedia being cut off permanently , the group says . `` Lobbyists and activists who support the given amendments are claiming that they are directed exclusively against content like child pornography 'and the like , ' but according to presented reports and statements , a prototype of 'The Great Firewall of China ' will be created in Russia , '' Wikipedia says in a statement on its site , which was translated from Russian . `` The practice of implementing existing Russian laws suggests a high chance of a worse scenario , in which access to Wikipedia will be denied across the country . `` Given the precedent , there 's a good chance access to Wikipedia will be denied across the country . '' The bills , according to news reports , would allow the government to blacklist certain websites . The aim , the government says , is to protect Internet users from harmful content like child pornography and websites that promote substance abuse . `` The Russian bill currently under discussion in parliament seeks to introduce a non-governmental Internet watchdog , which would monitor the Web for potentially harmful content and request hosting companies to restrict access to the marked pages , '' reports RT.com , a Russian news site that receives government funding . `` If this is not done , the page would be blacklisted . The bill also has stricter provisions for parental guidance ratings for content . '' The updates do not have universal support in the Russian government , the news site says . The country 's information minister , for example , has `` voiced doubt '' about the changes , saying they would be difficult to enforce . Another Russian site , however , reports that the bill has broad support in the Duma , Russia 's parliament . The state-owned news agency RIA Novosti elaborates on the bill 's provisions : . `` According to the draft document , submitted to the State Duma on June 7 , the unified roster of banned websites will be run by a federal agency to be appointed by the government , '' that news site says . `` The agency will have the right to add items to the blacklist , as will the courts , which already have the authority to ban extremist and other types of content that violates Russian legislation . '' On Twitter , Russia 's communications minister appeared to say the criticism from Wikipedia was healthy . `` I do n't support Wiki 's intentions to close , '' Nikolay Nikiforov wrote in a message translated from Russian . `` But this step is an important reaction of our society and a sign that we need to improve . '' Wikipedia 's political stance and temporary shutdown could be viewed by some as hypocritical . The digital encyclopedia , run by a nonprofit , is dedicated to the spread of free information . In January , however , Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales told CNN that it is the encyclopedia 's role to stand up when free speech and Internet freedoms are threatened . `` Free speech includes the right to not speak , '' he said . `` We are a community of volunteers . We have written this thing that we believe to be a gift to the world . We do n't charge people for it . It 's freely available to anybody who wants to ( use it ) . We are a charity . And I think it 's important for people to realize that the ability of our community to come together and give this kind of gift to the world depends on a certain legal infrastructure that makes it possible for people to share knowledge freely . ''
The Russian-language Wikipedia site shuts down in protest of a law . Wikipedia says proposed changes in that country would lead to censorship . The site 's shutdown is temporary . In January , Wikipedia jumped into U.S. politics with a similar act .