Legal

Executive order may put Internet media and online anonymity under new pressure

May 15, 2017

Issued Thursday, a 27-page Presidential executive order titled “Development Strategies for Russian Information Society from 2017 to 2030” is instructing the federal government to devise new mechanisms to rein in online media and limit Internet users’ anonymity. The Russian president is giving the government six months to reform its strategy for policing “means of providing …

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Mobile operator MTS to store user data in pilot anti-terror scheme

May 11, 2017

Russian cell phone operator MTS will be the first company to start storing users’ data under controversial new anti-terror laws. MTS will be running a pilot program in an unnamed Russian city, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper reported Wednesday. The trial run will test whether existing technology could be used to enforce the laws. The storage equipment needed for …

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Five international messengers banned in Russia

May 10, 2017

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.” …

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Twitter agrees to move user data to Russian servers

April 20, 2017

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 …

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Google, Yandex and antimonopoly authority reach settlement on Android in Russia

April 17, 2017

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) announced today the end of a two-year legal procedure with the involved parties reaching a voluntary settlement in a Moscow arbitration court. “The settlement will help eliminate the violations of the antimonopoly legislation previously detected and will ensure competition on markets of mobile applications, especially mobile search,” stated the FAS. In a case launched in February 2015 by …

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Russian VPNs and anonymizers under state pressure to restrict user access to blacklisted sites

April 17, 2017

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 …

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Airbnb closes Russian subsidiary

April 15, 2017

Airbnb has shuttered its Russian subsidiary in a bid to simplify the company’s operating structure across the globe. The company has decided that it was “easier” to conduct operations through their offices in Berlin, Dublin and London, said company spokesperson Yekaterina Kukureko. “Therefore, there was no reason to keep the Russian subsidiary open.” “We remain committed to …

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Facebook and other global digital giants agree to pay Russia’s new VAT on digital content

April 17, 2017

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., …

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Russian industry players look to self-regulate Big Data

April 6, 2017

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 …

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Ahead of new protests, Russia starts blocking web pages

March 31, 2017

With Russia’s opposition leader in jail for disobeying police at last Sunday’s anti-corruption protest in Moscow, the country is set for more nationwide demonstrations this weekend. Federal attorneys have instructed Roskomnadzor, the telecom regulator, to start blocking pages on Vkontakte, LiveJournal and YouTube that promote unsanctioned rallies scheduled for Sunday, April 2. Vkontakte is the leading …

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Startup visa program: Lithuania aims to offer Eastern European startups a gateway to the EU

March 25, 2017

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 …

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AliExpress to open representation in Russia and comply with personal data storage law

March 22, 2017

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 …

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