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Russia Turns the Screws on Internet Freedom

Jamie Dettmer

   MOSCOW - New legislation likely to be introduced next month in Russia's
   Duma, or lower chamber of parliament, would see tighter restrictions on
   the internet and on computers, tablets and other devices used to access
   the internet.

   The proposals include a provision for the identification of all email
   users and a requirement for new internet-able devices to be sold with
   pre-installed Russian software -- a legal obligation that could stop
   Apple, which won't install non-Apple software on its products, from
   selling computers and laptops in Russia.

   When the details of the legislation were first revealed last week, most
   media attention was focused on the proposal to limit to 20 percent the
   share foreign investors can own in Russian tech companies, a provision
   analysts calculated was aimed at Russia's largest internet company,
   Yandex. On Friday, Yandex saw the value of its shares plunge more than
   18 percent on the Wall Street stock exchange, the steepest decline in a
   year. Yandex owns the most popular Russian search engine and provides
   other online-based services, including food delivery and taxis.

   While the proposed ownership limiting foreign stakes in IT companies
   immediately alarmed foreign stock markets, the other provisions are
   adding to a slow burn of doubt with investors fearing further tech and
   internet restrictions will make it increasingly difficult to do
   business in Russia -- or to do so ethically.

   For rights campaigners and anti-Kremlin opposition groups, the entire
   package -- which was drafted by pro-Kremlin lawmakers, but which local
   media say has the backing of the Russian government -- amounts to a
   tightening of control by the authorities of the internet and a further
   enhancement of their ability to monitor online activity.

   The government has been ramping up its internet regulations, seeking to
   exercise greater control over its physical infrastructure as well and
   regulate the content that can be accessed by Russians. In the past few
   years, it has required search engines to delete some search results and
   oblige messaging services to share encryption keys with security
   services.

   In March, President Vladimir Putin signed two measures into law, one
   banning the publication of "unreliable, socially significant
   information" on the internet and another introducing fines and jail
   time for internet users who "disrespect" the authorities.

   'Online Iron Curtain'

   Ahead of his signing, thousands staged a rally in Moscow opposing the
   measures, saying the provisions would isolate Russians behind an
   "online Iron Curtain" and pave the way for nationwide censorship. "If
   they take that, we will have nothing," said Mikhail Svetov from the
   Libertarian Party. "We don't have free elections, we don't have press
   freedom, the television is completely controlled --the internet is the
   only place where we talk about corruption."

   The fresh legislation rewriting the rules again would allow authorities
   to block individual email or users from messaging apps that circulate
   banned content. Internet companies would be required within 24 hours of
   notification to block individual users when asked to do so by
   Roskomnadzor, the state communications watchdog.

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