Last week five messengers — WeChat, BlackBerry Messenger, LINE, Imo.im and the audiovisual chat Vchat — were banned by the Russian telecom regulator Roskomnadzor after refusing to be added to the official Russian “Registry of Information-Dissemination Organizers.” The news has been reported by Roskomsvoboda, a Russian NGO that aims to “combat Internet censorship in Russia.” …
The Russian telecom regulator Roskomnadzor announced today that Twitter has agreed to the transfer its Russian users’ data to Russian servers by mid-2018. Twitter’s communications head Sinead McSweeney has informed Roskomnadzor that the company is currently “in the process of determining what information about Russian citizens and organizations in commercial relations with Twitter in Russia can be stored in …
Twitter agrees to move user data to Russian servers Read More
Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom and Internet regulator, is putting pressure on online anonymizers and VPN services to restrict Russians’ access to blacklisted sites. The agency’s spokesman Vadim Ampelonsky stated that some anonymizers and VPNs were already cooperating with the government, while others which did not comply with regional laws were illegal in Russia and would be banned. But the Russin …
Facebook will pay Russia’s new 18% value-added tax as a foreign company selling digital content in Russia. The social network has joined a hundred other foreign companies that have registered to pay the VAT with Russia’s tax service. Among these companies are Alibaba, Amazon, Apple Distribution International, Bloomberg, Financial Times, GoDaddy, Google Commerce Ltd, Microsoft Ireland, Netflix International B.V., …
Facebook and other global digital giants agree to pay Russia’s new VAT on digital content Read More
Russia’s largest IT and telecom companies are considering the creation of a new self-regulatory organization to oversee the Big Data sector, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported Monday. Among these players are the national telecom operator Rostelecom, mobile operators MegaFon, MTS and Vimpelcom, and domestic Internet leaders Mail.Ru Group and Yandex. Mail.ru Group believes that that the …
Russian industry players look to self-regulate Big Data Read More
Earlier this year, Lithuania launched its own Startup Visa program, designed for entrepreneurs who wish to establish or develop their startup on the Baltic Sea shore inside the European Union. Under this program, startup entrepreneurs no longer need to fulfill certain capital or employment requirements to obtain a residence permit, should their business idea be deemed suitable …
Last week Alibaba subsidiary AliExpress announced that it is in the process of opening a local representation. Since 2014, the Chinese marketplace has asserted its preeminence on the Russian e-commerce market, which reached some $26 billion last year. Company representatives also confirmed the company’s intention to comply with Russian legislation, including the law which requires to …
AliExpress to open representation in Russia and comply with personal data storage law Read More
Last week Threema, which claims to be “the world’s favorite secure messenger,” became the first-ever foreign messaging app to be added to the official Russian “Registry of Information-Dissemination Organizers.” The news has been reported by Roskomsvoboda, a Russian NGO that aims to combat Internet censorship in Russia. Since 2014, the Russian authorities have managed a list of online services that “organize the dissemination of …
The Russian authorities are considering a new initiative to force foreign companies to carry out decisions made by Russian courts and state institutions. Non-compliance would be punished with slower Internet access to their sites — in the same way that some mobile phone plans slow Internet access after users exceed a predetermined limit. The law …
Russia considers slowing Internet speed for foreign sites breaking Russian law Read More
LinkedIn Corp. and the Russian authorities have failed to reach an agreement to restore access to the international social network from this country, Reuters has reported, refering to statements made yesterday by the company and the telecom regulator Roskomnadzor. “While we believe we comply with all applicable laws, and despite conversations with Roskomnadzor, including meeting with them in Moscow …
LinkedIn fails to agree with telecom regulator on restoring service in Russia Read More
The Russian government’s recent battle against online porn has electrified our country’s social networks. But much to the disappointment of the global porn industry, this so-called battle is, in fact, not much of a fight. Yes, the authorities have indeed blocked a hundred extremely popular sites. But the reason why is fairly banal: petty local …
How Russian authorities battle against online porn — in vain Read More
Russia’s new “anti-terrorist” legislation could come into force in 2019 only (instead of 2018 as initially planned), allowing operators to implement it in better conditions. Examining this controversial legislation adopted last year, an official expert group led by Mikhail Abyzov, Russia’s Minister for Open Government affairs, has recommended that significant changes be brought to make its implementation less costly and more rational. …
Implementation of Russia’s ‘Big Brother law’ could be postponed Read More
