Translated material
The State Duma will allow the FSB to block communications even without a security threat
The FSB will be able to block communications even if there is no security threat in the country or region. The conditions for such blocking will be established by the President of the Russian Federation, the new version of the amendments to the Law “On Communications” states, the Agency noted .
Changes to the bill were prepared for the second reading and published on the State Duma website. According to RIA Novosti, deputies will consider the new edition at a meeting on February 17.
According to the new version of the bill, telecom operators will have to “suspend the provision of communication services upon receipt of demands from the FSB authorities in cases established by regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation.”
The version of the bill for the first reading stated that communication services are terminated upon receipt of a “request” from the FSB in cases “established by regulatory legal acts of the president and government, in order to protect citizens and the state from emerging security threats.”
At the same time, it was not specified what threats were being discussed. The government explained the need for amendments by the shutdown of the Internet due to attacks by Ukrainian drones. Initially, it was assumed that in this way the authorities would relieve operators from liability for outages that occur throughout Russia.
As the Agency notes, in the new version, the FSB’s “request” has changed to a “demand,” and the mention of the government and security threats has disappeared.
The new version of the bill assumes that only the president will set restrictions, cyber lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan told the Agency. The changes provide security forces with the opportunity to demand the termination of communication services not only to protect against security threats, First Department lawyer Evgeniy Smirnov told the Agency: “The reasons will not be limited.”