The Taming of the Internet

Abstract

The Russian system of state internet censorship has been steadily expanding in recent years. The Russian government has succeeded in placing under its control both domestic and foreign internet companies operating in Russia and in establishing a system that can be used to conduct mass surveillance of internet users. However, the state censorship regime remains incomplete, as it is focused on countering small numbers of dissidents and is not designed to prevent the spread of information among thousands of users.

Keywords::

• Russia
• internet
• censorship
• FSB
• sueveillance

Notes

^1. “Obrashchenie Prezidenta Rossiiskoi Federatsii: Vystuplenie pered deputatami Gosudarstvennoi Dumy, chlenami Soveta Federatsii, rukovoditeliami regionov Rossi ii predstaviteliami grazhdanskogo obshchestva,” March 18, 2014 (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/20603, accessed August 21, 2015). [English translation from “Address by President of the Russian Federation,” Kremlin, March 18, 2014 (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20603).]

^2. “Ogranichen dostup k riadu internet-resursov, rasprostraniavshikh prizyvy k nesanktsionirovannym massovym meropriiatiiam,” Roskomnadzor, March 13, 2014 (http://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news24447.htm?print = 1, accessed August 21, 2015).

^3. During this period, sites that published articles and books from the list of texts prohibited on the basis of extremism were blocked. See “‘Ekstremistskie resursy’ v Edinom reestre zapreshchennykh saitov,” at the SOVA Center's Web site (www.sova-center.ru/misuse/docs/2014/08/d30056, accessed August 21, 2015).

^4. “Materialy k vystupleniiu zamestitelia rukovoditelia Roskomnadzora Maksima Ksenzova na rasshirennom zasedanii kollegii Roskomnadzora 14 maia 2013 goda v chasti, kasaiushcheisia analiza sushchestvuiushchikh metodov upravleniia dostupom k internet-resursam i rekomendatsii po ikh primeneniiu,” Roskomnadzor, May 15, 2013 (http://rkn.gov.ru/press/developments/speech/news19960.htm).

^5. “Popytki vladel'tsev obzhalovat' resheniia o blokirovke saitov okazalis' bezuspeshny,” Vedomosti, March 10, 2015 (www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/articles/2015/03/10/blokirovka-bez-granits, accessed August 21, 2015).

^6. “Vystuplenie rukovodtelia Roskomnadzora A.A. Zharova na rasshirennom zadesanii k kollegii Roskomnadzora,” May 14, 2013 (http://rkn.gov.ru/press/developments/speech/news19962.htm, accessed August 21, 2015).

^7. “Otchet Ligi bezopasnogo internet za 2014 g.” (www.ligainternet.ru/upload/docs/2014-LigaInternet.pdf, accessed August 21, 2015).

^8. “Statistika blokorovok,” Rublacklist.net, Roskomsvoboda (http://reestr.rublacklist.net/visual, accessed August 21, 2015).

^9. “Internet-predprinimatel'stvo v Rossii,” transcript of forum, President of Russia, June10, 2014 (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/45886, accessed August 21, 2015).

^10. “Mediaforum nezavisimykh regional'nykh i mestnykh SMI,” April 24, 2014 (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/20858, accessed August 21, 2015).

^11. Quoted in “Internet-predprinimatel'stvo v Rossii.”

^12. “Vstrecha s internet-predprinimateliami,” transcript, President of Russia, March 27, 2015 (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/49019, accessed August 21, 2015).

^13. Institut razvitiia interneta (IRI) (http://xn–h1aax.xn–p1ai/about, accessed August 21, 2015).

^14. Personal conversation with the author, 2012.

^15. Minkomsviaz order “Ob utverzhdenii Pravil primeneniia oborudovaniia sistem kommutatsii, vkliuchaia programmnoe obespechenie, obespechivaiushchego vypolnenie ustanovlennykh deistvii pri provedenii operativno-rozysknykh meropriiatii. Chast' III: Pravila primeneniia oborudovaniia kommutatsii i marshrutizatsii paketov informatsii setei peredachi dannykh, vkliuchaia programmnoe obespechenie, obespechivaiushchego vypolnenie ustanovlennykh deistvii pri provedenii operativno-rozysknykh meropriiatii,” Minkomsviaz, April 16, 2014 (www.minsvyaz.ru/ru/documents/4294/#tdocumentcontent, accessed August 21, 2015).

^16. Ibid.

^17. Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 97-F3 of May 5, 2014, “O vnesenii izmenenii v Federal'nyi zakon ‘Ob informatsii, informatsionnykh tekhnologiiakh i o zashchite informatsii’ i otdel'nye zakonodatel'nye akty Rossiiskoi Federatsii po voprosam uporiadocheniia obmena informatsiei s ispol'zovaniem informatsionno-telekommunikatsionnykh setei,” Rossiiskaia gazeta, May 6, 2014 (www.rg.ru/2014/05/07/informtech-dok.html, accessed August 21, 2015).

^18. “Eks-glava Upravleniia vnutrennei politiki Kremlia Konstantin Kostin: Naval'nomu opasno idti na vybory. Kar'era Nemtsova zakonchilas' na vyborakh mera Sochi,” Telekanal Dozhd’, July 1, 2013 (http://tvrain.ru/teleshow/govorite_s_yuliey_taratutoy/eks_glava_upravlenija_vnutrennej_politiki_kremlja_konstantin_kostin_navalnomu_opasno_idti_na_vybory_karera_nemtsova_zakonchilas_na_vyborah_mera_sochi-346962, accessed August 21, 2015).

^19. For example, Freedom House assessed the situation of the free press in Turkey as “partially free,” and in Russia as “unfree.” See “2015. Freedom in the World,” Freedom House (https://freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-world#.Vda9hCztmkp, accessed August 21, 2015).

^20. Saving the personal data of Russian users requires adoption of the June 2014 law no. 242, “O vnesenii izmenenii v otdel'nye zakonodatel'nye akty RF v chasti utochneniya poriadka obrabotki personal'nykh dannykh v informatsionno-telekommunikatsionnykh setiakh” (known as the law on personal data). It establishes the September 2015 deadline for transfer of servers with these data.

^21. “PayPal perenes servery v Rossiiu, chtoby khranit’ personal'nye dannye,” ITReviewer.ru, February 13, 2015 (http://itreviewer.ru/news/26703/paypal-perenes-servery-v-rossiyu-chtoby-hranit-personalnye-dannye, accessed August 21, 2015).

^22. “Google nachala perenosit’ servery v rossiiskie data-tsentry,” RBK, April 10, 2015 (http://top.rbc.ru/techonology_and_media/10/04/2015/5522a9f69a794752a5f478fa, accessed August 21, 2015).

^23. “Samsung perenosit dannye rossiian na rossiiskie servera,” Business Info, June 11, 2015 (http://b-online.ru/infobusiness/3299-samsung-perenosit-dannye-rossiyan-na-rossiyskie-servera.html, accessed August 21, 2015).

^24. “Sovet bezopasnosti obsudit otkliuchenie Rossii ot global'nogo internet,” Vedomosti, September 19, 2014 (www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2014/09/19/suverennyj-internet, accessed August 21, 2015).

^25. “Runet gotoviat k avtonomii,” Kommersant, March 27, 2015 (www.kommersant.ru/doc/2694953, accessed August 21, 2015).