The UN reports a report on the Internet from Russia

Human rights activists of 52 organizations announced a threat to the freedom of the Internet by Russia, indicating a systematic restriction of information distribution with pressure on users and Internet companies under the guise of combating terrorism.

In Geneva, at a session of the UN Human Rights Council, human rights activists from the British organization “Article 19” announced a threat to Internet freedom around the world from Russia. They indicated that the Russian authorities systematically limit the free distribution of information online and are trying to control Internet users. The blocking of the Telegram messenger has become the most striking manifestation of the country's position, the authors of the report said . The position of the Russian authorities does not change: control over the Internet is supposedly necessary to combat terrorism. Roskomsvoboda publishes the text of this application.

The appeal, under which the signatures of 52 well-known human rights organizations from around the world states that the politician pursued by the Russian Federation, aimed at the quick and significant reduction in the Internet, negatively affects the rights of Russian citizens and Internet users around the world.

“Consistently adopting all new reactionary legislative acts that contradict the international standards in the field of freedom of expression, access to information and the right to inviolability of private life, as well as unjustified pressure on Internet interpreters, the Russian Federation creates a mechanism that is fully implemented, not only extremely limits the free distribution of information on the Internet, but, potentially, provide the Russian authorities with access to the data of personal Communications of any person anywhere in the world, ”the human rights activists emphasize.

“Article 19” reminded of large -scale intervention in the functioning of the Internet that occurred in April and May of this year (and continuing in a slightly more “soft” version), which was caused by illegal and clumsy actions of the authorities in an attempt to block the Telegram messenger, which led to significant violations of the freedom of accounts and the right to access information. The requirement to block almost 20 million IP addresses caused an unprecedented level of concomitant blocking of third-party websites. Article 19, together with 56 international organizations in the field of human rights, then strongly condemned the actions of the Russian authorities.

Here I would like to recall the fact of direct covering by the Roskomnadzor by the authorities, which is responsible for mass blocking of millions of IP addresses. Thus, the relevant department-the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications (Minzifra) did not see the grounds for taking any sanctions in relation to the supervisory authority, although representatives of business and a number of users have already applied to the courts , the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Investigative Committee with complaints of violation of their digital rights caused by "carpet bombardments of Roskomnadzor." Moreover, the law enforcement agencies and courts are also in no hurry to start the proceedings regarding the illegal actions of the RCN, which violate the existing Russian legislation.

“The reason for such actions by the authorities,” the human rights activists recall, “was the failure to fulfill Telegram the provisions of the extremely doubtful so -called The “Spring Law” (or, “Package of Yarova”), adopted in 2016 under the pretext of “counteracting terrorism”, which requires all communication operators and Internet providers to store metadata about user communications, transmit the encryption keys to the special services, and also use only the encryption approved by the Russian government, in practice, this means the creation of the creation “Backdor” for employees of Russian security agencies for personal data, traffic and communications of Internet users. ”

In July 2018, the articles of the Yarovaya Law will come into force, demanding that companies keep all voice and text messages for six months and provide access to the security authorities in the absence of a court decision. This will affect user communication both in Russia and beyond its borders. Human rights activists warn:

“The attempts of the Russian authorities to limit online communications and violate the right to inviolability of private life, allegedly to protect state security, are neither necessary nor proportionate. The Russian government should cancel the “Yarovaya Law” and refrain from providing pressure on Internet intermediary, demanding to violate users' rights under the threat of blocking their services in the country. ”

Human rights activists recalled that since 2012, Russia has a black list of websites ( a single register of blocked sites ), gradually expanding the list of grounds for blocking websites, including without a court decision. “An absolutely unjustified continuing blocking of a number of Internet media, as well as the Linkedin social network, can only be considered as an awesome example to force others to obey,” they say. “Separate Internet users are also persecuted for expressing opinions on the Internet or even just for“ like ”or“ repost ”of content on social networks.”

The statement by Article19 says that the Russian mechanism to limit the Internet will be supplemented by two more bills adopted by the State Duma in the first reading. The first is about criminal punishment for action and inaction that could lead or led to the introduction of international sanctions against Russia (the project introduces a new article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 284.2). The second is to delete false information about the requirement for “public networks”. Also, network administrators will be required to identify users by mobile phone number.

“If these provisions are executed, it will be impossible to share the communications of users living in Russia and abroad, which means a potential threat to us all,” said Katie Morris, head of the Europe and Central Asia programs. She considers such an invasion of private life and freedom of expression as disturbing. “We urge the UN to carefully study and publicly challenge the actions of Russia in order to protect the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and the inviolability of private life both online and offline, as provided for by international agreements, the participant of which is Russia,” explained Mrs. Morris.

The Russian authorities have repeatedly explained that the right to inviolability of private life and the secret of correspondence may be limited in the interests of public security and for the sake of preventing and investigating crimes, primarily terrorist attacks. “But the task of the national authorities is to comply with the balance between these two legitimate goals,” said Damir Gainutdinov, lawyer of the Agora international human rights group, representing Telegram in courts against the FSB of Russia.

The bill No. 223849-7 , which introduces a new article in the Criminal Code, has already caused a negative response in Russia, including from the business community. Recall that in May, due to criticism, the State Duma postponed the consideration of this law in the second reading, and the State Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin did not rule out that part of the provisions could be transferred from the Criminal Code to the Code of Administrative Offenses. At the same time, deputies plan to leave the points on the actions that led to the introduction of sanctions in the Criminal Code. On the bill on the removal of unlawful information from networks, the Council under the President of the Russian Federation on Human Rights (HRC) gave a negative review, offering it to reject: “The danger is that, hiding behind the intention to deal with“ unreliable information ”, individuals and state bodies may try to limit freedom of speech and expression of opinions.”

Roskomvoboda also signed its signature under the appeal “Article 19” and completely shares anxiety relatively increasing pressure on the Russians online. The leading lawyer of our organization Sarkis Darbinyan notes:

“An increasing number of people far from politics are worried about what the Russian authorities are doing today in the Russian segment of the Internet. Everyone already feels the whip of the state. Restrictions, blocking, surveillance, planting are what we hear recently when it comes to Internet regulation. The last straw of patience was the mass IP genocide, which was arranged by the Russian authorities in the hunt for Telegram. We lose freedom every year. We are losing the connectedness of Runet with global Internet. And we see the endowment of special services and regulators with an increasing volume of powers that they completely impermissally realize. Unfortunately, Russian human rights organizations almost lost the belief that you can achieve changes at the national level. That is why 52 leading organizations standing guard of human rights ask the UN to intervene and release a resolution condemning the actions of the Russian authorities to limit human rights and freedoms in the country. It seems to me that such a unanimous position of all leading NGOs should demonstrate the degree of concern of civil society so that the time has come to change something. ”

The statement “Article 19” also mentioned the no less dangerous bill No. 464757-7 , amending the Criminal Code (Article 284.2), which provides for criminal punishment for the distribution of information led to the introduction of “international sanctions”. According to human rights defenders, new norms can be used to restrict the discussion of socially significant issues in the media, or the activities of non -core organizations (NGOs) to protect rights at the international level.

Both bills, No. 223849-7 and No. 464757-7, in the case of their adoption, will have a negative impact on free information exchange and should not be put into effect, the human rights activists say.

The following organizations signed under the statement voiced at the UN:

1. Article 19 (Article 19)

2. International Agora (Agora International)

3. Access Now

4. Amnesty International

5. Asociatia Pentru Tehnologie Si Internet - Apti

6. ASSOCIIAXO D3 - Defesa Dos Direitos Digitais

7. Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights (Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights)

8. Committee to Protect Journalists

9. Civil control (Citizens' Watch)

10. Civil Rights Defenders

11. Electronic Frontier Foundation

12. Electronic Frontier Norway

13. Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic)

14. European Federation of Journalists.

15. FIDH - International Federal Human Rights

16. Freedom House

17. Association "Free Word" (Free Word Association)

18. Glasnost Defense Foundation Fund)

19. Human Rights House Foundation

20. Human Rights Watch

21. Free Historical Society (The Independent Historical Society)

22. Index on Censorship

23. International Media Support

24. International Human Rights Partnership (International Partnership for Human Rights)

25. International Youth Human Rights Movement (YHRM)

26. Internet Protection Society.

27. HPG - Kharkov human rights group (Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group)

28. Media Defense Center (Mass Media Defense Center)

29. Moscow Helsinki Group (Moscow Helsinki Group)

30. OOD "For Human Rights" ('For Human Rights' Movement)

31. Norwegian Helsinki Committee (Norwegian Helsinki Committee)

32. Open Media

33. Open Rights Group

34. OVD-Info

35. Pen America (Pen America)

36. Pen International

37. PENC-Petersburg.

38. Man in trouble

39. Press Development Institute-Siberia (Press Development Institute-Siberia)

40. Privacy International

41. Reporters without borders.

42. Roskomsvodoba

43. "Rus' Beyond Bars)

44. The Union of Journalists and Media Workers (Russian Journalists 'and Media Workers' Union)

45. Russian LGBT network (Russian LGBT Network)

46. Sakharov Center

47. Information and analytical center "SOVA Center)

48. Team 29 (Team 29)

49. Transpensers Internet - P (Transparency International Russia)

50. The Association of Internet Events.

51. World Wide Web Foundation

52. XNET

We hope that the world community will take on due attention to our collective statement and will attach all the forces to uphold the online volume both in Russia and around the world.

Read also:

A collective complaint about the illegal actions of Roskomnadzor filed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs

?

Minzifra: Pressing Roskomnadzor for "carpet bombing" no reason

?

The State Duma proposes to plant for 2 years for refusing to refute "defamatory information"

?

"Spring package", Big Data and the abolition of network neutrality: Last line

?

May conclusions: society can defend its digital rights