The law, signed on February 20, is part of a wider set of measures by which Russian authorities further tighten control over information and media content. The new provision allows the FSB to request from Internet service providers, mobile and fixed, the exclusion or limitation of Internet access in cases “established by regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation.”
This gives the president the opportunity to independently decide when internet communication in the entire country or in a certain region will be suspended, without the obligation to publicly state the reasons. At the same time, service providers are released from responsibility for acting on such orders.
Lawyer and long-time internet activist Sarkis Darbinyan stated that “only the president can introduce restrictions”, stressing that presidential decrees are simpler and faster to pass than government decrees.
The move comes as Russian authorities try to prevent Ukrainian drones from using Russian data networks to navigate to targets inside the country. In recent months, the pressure on popular messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
According to some reports, Telegram could be completely blocked from April 1. Technological regulator Roskomnadzor he accused Telegram, which he founded Pavel Durovfor enabling a market for the illegal distribution of personal data of Russian citizens.
The restrictions have caused outrage among bloggers and military analysts who use Telegram to monitor events on the battlefield in Ukraine and to collect aid for Russian units.
(Vijesti.ba)
