Russia’s state-controlled telecommunications company Rostelecom informed the government that Google Inc. has moved some servers to Russia to comply with a controversial law requiring Internet companies to store Russians’ personal data within the country’s borders, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. Following a meeting in late March with the communications ministry, a Rostelecom representative who attended the meeting said that …
With the European Commission’s antitrust complaint against Google, Russia’s home advantage in Internet search is evident. Shares of Yandex, Russia’s largest Internet search provider, were up nearly 13% in the last half hour of U.S. trading, while shares of its smaller Russian competitor Mail.ru Group were down 1.7%. Google stock rose 0.6%.
Crimean gamers were locked out of playing popular online multiplayer games World of Warcraft and Diablo III last week, as the game publisher was forced to suspend the accounts in compliance with Western sanctions. Major US Internet and tech companies such as Apple, Google and PayPal have suspended services to Crimean users over the last year. The United States in December barred US-registered companies from investing in Crimea or providing …
US sanctions block Crimeans from World of Warcraft, Diablo III Read More
eBay has become the first US company to say it will comply with the new Russian legislation requiring businesses to store Russian users’ personal data in Russia, business daily Kommersant reported earlier this week. Vladimir Dolgov, eBay’s general manager in Russia, met with a deputy head of telecom regulator Roskomnadzor last week to clarify “a series of questions” related to the law.
From September 1, 2015, companies operating in Russia will be required to store their users’ or clients’ personal data on servers located physically on Russian territory. A white paper released by East-West Digital News, in partnership with EY and leading market players, sheds full light on the legal and organizational aspects of the matter.
Russia’s Ministry of Telecommunications recently developed a draft decree limiting the procurement of foreign software. The ministry intends to establish a register of domestic software developers and oblige state agencies and state-owned companies to buy software only from those on the list. If the registry is missing the necessary software or it does not fit …
Last week, the Russian Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) announced that the salaries of its staff are being reduced this year “from 23% to 54%, depending on the region,” news agency TASS reported. For example, “a Roskomnadzor employee who received last year 50,000 or 55,000 …
Earlier this month Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin ordered the creation of a council for cyber security that will operate under the Military Industrial Commission. An inter-departmental working group for information security would also be set up. “Mr. Rogozin ordered the creation of a council for cyber security within the framework of the Military Industrial Commission …
In yet another step in VKontakte’s strategy to legalize its content, the social network has reached an agreement with Channel One, Russia’s first TV channel. The broadcaster will provide the rights to broadcast its programs and popular shows in exchange for a share of advertising revenues. The news was reported on Wednesday by Russian business …
Russia’s first TV channel and VKontakte agree legalization of video content Read More
Russian Internet giant Yandex has requested that Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service investigate Google for violating Russian legislation, news agency RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday. The regulator now has one month to consider the request from Yandex, Russia’s top search engine and provider of a range of digital services, such as Yandex.Maps and Yandex.Music, a music streaming service.
A Russian man has filed a lawsuit against search giant Google, accusing it of violating his privacy by showing him advertisements based on comments made in private e-mails. Anton Burkov, from Yekaterinburg, filed the suit in a Moscow court when advertisements for French hotels and visa services began appearing alongside Google search results — shortly after discussing a trip to Strasbourg with friends.
A Russian web site that served as a support group for LGBT teenagers has been blacklisted by the authorities and will likely be blocked within the country, news reports said Monday. The site’s name Deti-404 (Children-404), after the online HTTP error message for “page not found,” may prove portentous if Russia’s Internet watchdog Roskomnadzor considers the site to be in violation of a federal law that regulates online …
