VKontakte (VK), the leading social network in Russia and a property of LSE-listed Mail.ru Group, has won a legal battle against Universal Music and Warner Music. In two verdicts handed down on March 2 and 3, the Saint Petersburg & Leningradsky Region Appeal Court overturned an earlier ruling that VK must implement effective technology to stop infringements …
Valery Radayev, the governor of Saratov, has some big ideas for SEPO, the Saratov Electrounit Production Corporation. You might know SEPO for its indestructible refrigerators, which it’s been pumping out since 1939, when it was founded in the Soviet Union to show the world’s capitalist pigdogs that communism could produce consumer comforts, too. SEPO also made …
The head of the Chechen government, Ramzan Kadyrov, accuses Instagram of censoring his free speech. He says the social network deleted a post he directed at Russia’s political opposition. “Here is America’s vaunted freedom of speech! You can write what you want, but don’t touch America’s henchmen or friends of the State Department and Congress. …
Chechen leader complains about censorship by Instagram Read More
Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to develop legislative amendments that will provide “more equal working conditions” among Internet companies in Russia. The executive order is addressed to several branches of the state: the Anti-Monopoly Service, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Tax Service, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, …
Putin supports introducing sales tax on foreign Internet companies Read More
The Russian-language Google Books service is using a slogan that rival research engine Yandex copyrighted more than a decade ago. “Find everything!” (literally, “Everything will be found,” or “Найдется все!”) appears below Google’s book search, after the phrase, “The largest library in the world.” The news site Roem.ru first reported the slogan’s appearance on Google’s website on January 18. As …
Google swipes Yandex’s 15-year-old slogan, accidentally it says Read More
An expert evaluation conducted by the Russian government (at Apple’s request) revealed that default emoji on iOS do not violate Russia’s law against “propaganda of nontraditional relationships” (so-called “gay propaganda”). The experts acknowledged that emoji can be used in different contexts, which can carry both “positive” and “negative” connotations. With regard to the same-sex iOS emoji, the …
Expert evaluation finds no ‘gay propaganda’ in Apple’s iOS emoji Read More
Finland’s Justice Ministry has decided to extradite to the United States Maxim Senakh, a Russian citizen accused of illegal hacking. According to Senakh’s lawyer, Igor Khitrukhin, Finnish authorities decided on January 5 to send Senakh to the US, though he wasn’t informed until January 8. Khitrukhin says the move is politically motivated and promises to appeal …
Finland decides to extradite Russian hacker to the US Read More
Vladimir Putin has signed into law new legislation that fines Internet search engines 1 million rubles (almost $14,000) for refusing to delete hyperlinks to an individual’s personal information, if legally requested under Russia’s “right to be forgotten.” According to the new law, Internet search engines will be required to remove links to unverified information and …
Russian lawmakers have introduced draft legislation that would levy a tax on the purchase of content and software from foreign IT companies. In particular, the tax would apply to the App Store and Google Play online stores, where Russian customers currently pay no sales taxes. Lawmakers say the new legislation could bring in tens of …
Russian lawmakers propose a new 18% tax on foreign-developed apps Read More
German Klimenko has officially agreed to become Vladimir Putin’s advisor on the Internet. Within a few days of accepting this responsibility, Klimenko managed to grant several interviews to the Russian media, including a pair of particularly noteworthy conversations with the independent outlets Dozhd and Vedomosti. Meduza, an independent-minded online publication, examines these interviews and summarizes …
Meet Vladimir Putin’s new Internet advisor German Klimenko Read More
For the first time, Alexander Zharov, the head of Roskomnadzor (Russia’s state media watchdog), floated the prospect of blocking mobile apps sold through Apple’s AppStore and Google Play. Speaking to a group about copyright law earlier today, Zharov proposed the formation of a working group to review the possibility of blocking mobile applications. Boris Edidin, …
Russian censors consider blocking mobile apps on iOS and Android Read More
An appeals court has approved a settlement agreement between photoblogger Ilya Varlamov and the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, which was convicted of publishing 18 of Varlamov’s photographs without his permission. In accordance with the settlement, the newspaper must advertise Varlamov’s work on its website and the websites of its affiliates. Komsomolskaya Pravda has agreed to send 2 million visitors …
