Oryol region prosecutors have appealed to the courts in an effort to block children studying at a school in the regional capital from accessing free online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

In a statement on their official website, local prosecutors said Monday that a Wikipedia article titled "Russian Swearwords" was unfit for children studying at Oryol's Lyceum No. 22, pointing to its "coarse language."

Following up on their findings, prosecutors have turned to Oryol's Sovietsky Court, which is considering ordering a local Internet provider to bar access to the resource used by schoolchildren across the globe.

If the court sides with prosecutors, Resurs-Svyaz would be forced to block Wikipedia at the school from Nov. 1 under a new law that comes into effect on that date.

The legislation signed into law by President Vladimir Putin in July will require websites, website-hosting companies and Internet service providers to remove or block content that the government adds to a blacklist of illicit online material.

Oryol region prosecutors said Monday that they would continue to run checks into local schools to determine whether they were protecting children from information that could be harmful to their health, and moral and spiritual well-being.

Related articles:

• Minister Calls For Childproofing Internet
• More Than 60% of Russians Back Online Censorship, Poll Says
• Ministry Wants to Shield Kids From Public Wi-Fi