Russian lawmakers plan to tighten screws on social media

Deputies in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, have drafted a new version of legislation that would impose additional regulations on social networks.

The draft legislation includes, in particular, the following points:

• Every major social network would be required to establish representation in Russia, to make it easier for the Russian authorities to communicate with these companies.
• All major social networks would be forced to identify their users by their phone numbers. This, Russian users will not be able to use social media anonymously since individuals have to surrender their passport information when purchasing SIM cards.
• At their own users’ requests, all major social networks would be required to delete any information that violates Russian laws within 24 hours.
• At the request of Roskomnadzor, the telecom and Internet regulator, all major social networks would have to delete any “unverified publicly significant information presented as reliable information.” In other words, the Russian government could force social networks to remove anything it says is “fake news.”
• All major social networks would be required to prevent users from publishing content that promotes “pornography or a cult of violence.” They would also be required to delete all obscene language, which means swearing would be banned under this new law.