Legislation & regulation

Russian censor cites Google for including banned content in search results

July 6, 2019

Roskomnadzor, the Russian Internet and telecom regulator, has submitted an administrative protocol citing Google for censoring its search results in Russia insufficiently. The news agency Interfax cited Roskomnadzor as saying that its most recent test of the search engine in May indicated that “more than a third of the links included in the unified registry …

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How federal censors monitor and punish Russia’s mass media

June 12, 2019

The arrest of Ivan Golunov under drug trafficking charges on June 6 triggered a flurry of emotion in the Russian media and social scene. Many see in the case a manipulation to intimidate or punish an independent-minded journalist and its employer, the Riga-based online publication Meduza, whose investigations often target behind-the-scene interests in the Russian …

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State regulator threatens to block VPN services “within a month” if they do not comply with its website blacklist

June 7, 2019

Alexander Zharov, the head of the telecom and Internet regulator Roskomnadzor, said in an interview with Interfax that nine VPN services may be blocked on Russian territory “within a month” if they do not comply with the federal censorship agency’s demands. Roskomnadzor contacted each of the VPN providers in question at the end of March 2019 to demand that …

State regulator threatens to block VPN services “within a month” if they do not comply with its website blacklist Read More

Russia requires Yandex, Tinder to make user content available to law enforcement agencies

June 7, 2019

Update June 7 – According to media reports, Yandex and the authorities reached an agreement on how to apply the legislation as for providing law enforcement bodies with access to encrypted user content. Yandex, the Russian digital giant, received a request from Russian secret service, the FSB, to grant them access to encrypted user content …

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Russia specifies which threats could necessitate Internet isolation

May 24, 2019

Russia’s Communications Ministry has specified a list of threats that may necessitate isolation of the country’s Internet under a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin on May 1. In a proposal published on the parliament’s online portal, where registered users can critique a proposal on how the new legislation would be implemented in practice, …

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Russian prosecutors take softer stance on crypto website

May 13, 2019

A court case in Russia has signaled a change in the attitude authorities have towards the cryptocurrency space, at least on first glance. After prosecutors gave up their efforts to block the website – citing the upcoming Russian legislation meant to regulate Bitcoin – Bestchange.ru  will be allowed to restore normal operations. This online portal …

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President Putin signs controversial “sovereign Internet” bill into law

May 3, 2019

Unsurprisingly the Russian president signed into law on May 1 a bill which aims to “ensure the safe and sustainable functioning” of the Internet in the country. The authorities say the law will defend the country against foreign aggression, serving as insurance, in case Russia’s global Internet access is shut off from abroad.  Supporters of …

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One year after ban, Telegram still accessible from Russia with growing audience

April 29, 2019

One year after Russian authorities decided to block it, the instant messenger Telegram continues to be widely accessible from Russia. Almost half of Telegram users in Russia do need to use VPNs to access the service, according to Telegram Analytics; but the number of daily users of the service in Russia grew from 3.7 million …

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New Internet isolation bill is “a pretty formidable weapon,” says Russian Internet censor

April 17, 2019

Yesterday, as the lower house of Parliament adopted in third reading a controversial law to “ensure the safe and sustainable functioning” of the Internet in Russia, the head of Internet regulator and censor Roskomnadzor compared the bill to nuclear weapons. “This is a pretty formidable weapon, but I hope that, like the nuclear weapons several …

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Russian lawmakers adopt final version of new ‘Internet isolation’ law

April 17, 2019

Yesterday the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, adopted in second reading a legislation designed to “ensure the safe and sustainable functioning” of the Internet in Russia. Lawmakers say the law will defend the country against foreign aggression, serving as insurance, in case Russia’s global Internet access is shut off from abroad. Supporters of …

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Anti-Putin graffiti triggers first enforcement of new Internet censorship law

April 3, 2019

The Prosecutor General’s office has reportedly requested Roskomnadzor, the Internet regulator, to take steps to delete online news stories about graffiti that used offensive language to describe President Vladimir Putin. The authorities thus applied for the first time a new law that penalizes online expressions of “contempt” for society, state symbols and the authorities. On …

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Russian authorities demand that VPN services comply with censorship policies

April 1, 2019

Roskomnadzor, the agency responsible for communications regulation and censorship in Russia, announced today that it contacted a number of VPN services to request that they subscribe to the agency’s registry of websites that are banned from distribution on Russian territory. Though Roskomnadzor has blocked VPN services before and asked Internet service providers to comply with its registry of blocked …

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