Russian parliament discusses Internet isolation plan amid budget uncertainty

The Russian parliament is discussing draft amendments to the existing legislation to ensure a “secure and stable functioning” of the Internet network.

Should these amendments be adopted, the country would use its own domain name system and Internet traffic routing, where only Russian websites would work. The telecom and Internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, would be responsible for centralizing the state’s control over this isolated segment of the World Wide Web.

Independent-minded online publication Meduza believes that the bill is “very likely” to be approved.  However, the amount of funding required for its implementation is still not definitively known.