Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) will be able to block communications even if there is no security threat in the country or region, according to the amendments to the law “on communications”, introduced in the second reading, the “Agency” edition has drawn attention to.
According to the new version of the initiative, telecom operators will be obliged to “stop the provision of communication services in case of receipt of requirements from the Federal Security Service in cases established by regulatory legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation”. The first version had a different wording, stating that communication services would be stopped upon receipt of a “request” from the FSB in cases “established by normative legal acts of the President and the Government, in order to protect citizens and the state from emerging security threats”.
Lawyers interviewed by the publication explained that the new version of the bill makes the process of internet shutdowns easier. Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer of the “first department”, explained that “it unties the hands of the president faster, as he will define such cases”. Cyber lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan noted that presidential acts are “even simpler than a government decree.” OVD-Info lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina added that the amendment would expand the FSB’s powers.
A bill on the FSB’s right to restrict communications was submitted to the State Duma in November. State agencies, citing a source, wrote that the initiative aims to relieve operators of responsibility for disabling communications due to UAV attacks.
In addition, Russia intends to create a database of mobile devices (more precisely, their unique IMEI numbers). Communication will be provided only to those devices whose phone numbers are included in the register. Deputy Minister Dmytro Ugnivenko spoke about plans to create a register of mobile devices in order to block Ukrainian UAVs more effectively. As the Kommersant business daily wrote, the FSB came to the Ministry of Defence with a proposal to create a register of these numbers.