Mobile operator MTS to store user data in pilot anti-terror scheme

Russian cell phone operator MTS will be the first company to start storing users’ data under controversial new anti-terror laws.

MTS will be running a pilot program in an unnamed Russian city, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper reported Wednesday. The trial run will test whether existing technology could be used to enforce the laws.

The storage equipment needed for the program will be provided by Russian technology company Norsi-Trans, which already provides electronic surveillance hardware for the Russian government.