Legal

Google fined $6.7 million by Russian anti-monopoly authorities

August 12, 2016

Russia’s Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) has fined Google 438 million rubles (approximately $6.7 million at the current exchange rate) for abusing its dominant position in the Russian market. This fine accounts for some 2.5% of the turnover of Google’s Russian subsidiary, noted the Russian business daily Kommersant. Google was found guilty of violating anti-monopoly laws by forcing phone …

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Russia files case against Apple on allegations of price-fixing

August 9, 2016

Russia’s Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) has filed a case against US tech giant Apple on allegations of price-fixing. A number of retailers are continuing to sell the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, and other models at the same price as when the phones were released in October 2015, the FAS claim. Some 16 Russian companies are alleged to be involved in the case, including MTS, M.Video, Beeline, Eldorado, Euroset, Media …

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Ted Kim of London Trust Media: “Russians will be forced, by their own government, to learn about privacy-protecting technology”

July 16, 2016

Last week Private Internet Access (PIA), a VPN provider based in California, announced that it was suspending all operations in Russia following server seizure by the Russian authorities and due to an ever-more restrictive legal environment. Under a controversial “anti-terrorist” legislation signed by President Putin in early July, Internet and telecom players will soon be required to store the content and the …

Ted Kim of London Trust Media: “Russians will be forced, by their own government, to learn about privacy-protecting technology” Read More

Russia considers creating a “national Big Data operator”

April 6, 2017

Less than one year after the introduction of new restrictions on personal data collection, use and storage, and in parallel to recently adopted ‘anti-terrorist’ measures, Russian officials are considering yet additional moves to tighten state control over users’ digital data. Speaking last month at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Alexander Zharov, who heads Russia’s telecom and …

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Equipment to implement new ‘Big Brother’ law doesn’t exist, but Russia can produce it, according to Russian officials

February 28, 2017

Yesterday Oleg Fomichev, Russia’s Deputy Minister for Economic Development, stated that the data storage infrastructure needed to implement Russia’s new “anti-terrorist” legislation does not exist currently. “This kind of equipment doesn’t exist anywhere in the world in such a quantity at the moment,” the Interfax news agency quoted his as saying, as reported by The Moscow Times. It …

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American VPN provider leaves Russia after server seizure and adoption of anti-privacy legislation

February 20, 2017

Private Internet Access (PIA), a US-based VPN provider whose users may anonymously visit webpages and bypass site blockings, has announced that has discontinued its Russian gateways and will no longer be doing business in the region. PIA seems to be the first international player to stop activities in the country after the adoption of Russia’s latest “anti-terrorist” legislation. Under this …

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Putin signs ‘Big Brother law,’ asks government to “minimize implementation risks”

February 28, 2017

Today Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the controversial “anti-terrorist” legislation adopted by the lower and upper houses of parliament in late June, despite the flurry of criticism coming from opposition-mided circles and the serious concerns expressed by Russian telecom and Internet companies. As reported earlier by East-West Digital News, the new legislation — which Edward Snowden has called …

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Russian parliament passes “Big Brother law,” Internet and telecom industry expects hard times

February 20, 2017

In late June, the Russian parliament approved controversial amendments to Russia’s anti-terrorist legislation. Drafted by lawmakers Irina Yarovaya and Viktor Ozerov, the new legislation may have deep consequences for people living and using digital networks in Russia. The amendments are yet to be signed by President Putin [which he did on July 7 update]. A substantial part of the …

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Russian parliament approves ‘Google Tax’ for foreign app stores

January 30, 2017

Russia’s Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, has approved a law requiring foreign companies to pay value added tax (VAT) of 18 percent on online content, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. The bill, nicknamed the “Google tax law”, will also require companies who distribute or sell online applications, games, music, or other content …

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Russian authorities block, then unblock, Amazon’s cloud service

June 26, 2016

Earlier this week Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom and Internet regulator, added Amazon’s cloud storage domain (s3.amazonaws.com) to the register of prohibited sites, before cancelling this access restriction. The web address was included into the register on June 21, although the Tax Service had already ordered to do so in May. According to Russian tech blog Habrahabr, the …

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