The new legislation in Russia will limit internet access to users and allow spying on communications, eliminating user privacy.
Few countries currently have a partial or total disconnection from the network of networks. China is partially connected to the internet with exhaustive content filtering. To our knowledge, North Korea is the only country theoretically disconnected from the internet with an intranet. Russia plans to do something similar in the next two weeks. They want to electronically disconnect from the rest of the world with their own operational internet network.
Russia has long attempted to restrict internet access for its users. A few months ago, it tried to force Telegram to provide them with a master key to read messages. Telegram refused, and the Russian courts ordered the blocking of the Telegram service in the country. This is just one example of Russia's policies.
Russia's disconnection from the internet begins
What the state intends with this regulation is to obtain greater control over the content accessed by citizens. To achieve this, a new regulation called “sovereign internet” has been established. This text was approved on October 1, 2019, although its presentation and approval is initially scheduled for August 1, 2018.
This initiative has been encrypted in the first instance at 34 million euros according to regulators. This is a fairly low estimate and there are estimates that the cost will be much higher. According to one of the developers of this regulation, the final cost could be around 270 million euros.
As is logical, the rule has not liked the public at all. At the beginning of the month an estimated 15 people demonstrated against the rule. It is one of the largest demonstrations this year in the country, which is not very given to this type of act.
Those offering access to internet service will need to install and perform deep packet inspection (DPI). This would allow a traffic blocking or surveillance. The government says this is done to protect Russian websites and services from external threats.
The end of user privacy
Many experts show their discomfort with the use of DPI and emphasize that it is an invasion of privacy and an absolute political repression. An adviser to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, said that this plan is not ready to be implemented throughout the country. They have reported that they would be conducting tests in the Urals and Tyumen.
On the other hand, the government has full capacity to monitor user data. The law is based on the excuse of identifying threats and improving security. In addition, the norm indicates that all those supplier companies that do not collaborate could be disconnected from the network.
Source: HRW
