What will happen with social networks after the adoption of the new law

What happened?

State Duma deputies will discuss the bill in the near futureOn Amending the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information"., Provides for amendments to the law "On information, information technologies and information protection". The main changes relate to the work of social networks.

Highlights are as follows:

1. Social networks should have in Russia a representative office. And if you have not, then create it.
2. social networks, operators must necessarily identify its users.
3. During the day, the social network is to remove information on the application users for the distribution of which is subject to criminal or administrative liability. For example, advocating war, inciting ethnic hatred and enmity, false and discrediting the honor, dignity and reputation. This open-ended list. Given the unpredictable practice to say for sure what exactly that will be the base, it is impossible.
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4. Also on social networks operators are responsible for the removal of phishing web news by Roskomnadzor demand.

As the new bill will change the work of social networks?

On social networks operators impose court function. The company will have to hire thousands of moderators and lawyers. They will have to deal with the content of evaluation and examination of evidence of its illegality, and other claims. This is a very serious work.

To minimize the risk of Russian services and social networks, will likely remove any suspicious information. This will increase the level of self-censorship within the platforms.

And how it will affect the user?

Document completely destroys all anonymity in social networks, introduces the poll-certification of each user, and creates a measure for total control.

In recent years, a large number of users have already prosecuted not only for their own records, but for census.

Any publication on sensitive topics (religion, LGBT, Ukraine, Syria) can cause the initiation of criminal or administrative proceedings. As it was, for example, with a demonstration of Nazi symbols in the background Grandfather military photos or expressive posts deceased blogger spout.

By whom hit the new rules?

First and foremost on the Russian platforms. The law will affect the YouTube, and any major media, where there is the possibility of commenting. But it is the Russian company will have to fulfill all the requirements of even the most absurd. They will be less competitive and attractive to users.

As a result, it can lead to the fact that many foreign social networks and services will close its operation in the territory of Russia. Provide activities in accordance with the Russian law may withdraw more than the profit from the operation in RuNet.

One of the requirements to the social networks - to know their users. How this will be done technically?

For example, with the help of compulsory registration with the mobile phone. On June 1, mobile operators are likely to start to disable users unidentified SIM cards. This is another step in the announced government policy on deanonimizatsii of all Internet users.

And how can you deal with phishing web news?

In the bill there is no specific body that would determine feykovye news or not. The powers are spread to different organs of executive power. Apparently, they will determine the accuracy of the information on its own internal procedures, and often opaque.

How will it look in practice? For example, if the MOE said that the fire killed 10 people, no one will be able to write more or less. Even if there is reason for doubt.

What punishment awaits the social network for violations?

The first sanction for violation of the law - a fine of 50 million rubles. In the future, they face restrictions on access to the service throughout the country - level locking operators.

Are there similar laws abroad?

In Germany recently passed a law requiring the social network to remove some of the information relating to justify Nazism. But there are very specific requirements.

In general, the trend relating to private communications control exists in many countries. However, this was not regulating magnitude more anywhere. The new bill our members showed that Russia goes ahead of the rest in terms of destruction of freedom on the Internet.

What happens if the bill still take?

Since, in my opinion, the draft law violates the Russian Constitution and provided for a number of international rights conventions and the freedom of man, after its entry into force will be initiated by a large number of trials and disputes. The question comes to international bodies, which have to assess the provisions of the law. But if it helps - the big question.

In addition, from the perspective of human rights to privacy in the digital age, the bill is contrary to the new European regulations on data processing GDPR. The provisions of the bill come into direct conflict with the directive. This means that Russian companies will be fined by European regulators for violation of the rules of the data of European citizens.

To summarize, this is a heavy blow to the freedom of speech and freedom of information.

And they think other experts?

Anastasia Loktionova

Deputy Director General Group of Companies "Rusmikrofinans".

The only advantage of this bill, if it is implemented, there will be some clarity on what to delete and what not. It may be easier to deal with violations. In general, this is reminiscent of a return in the XX century: the censorship of the mass, the freedom of speech and does not smell.

Gleb Plesovskih

Lawyer.

The norms of the bill apply to the social network in which there are more than two million users. However, no clarification: users in general or those who are registered on the territory of Russia? And if the user has several pages, they will be considered?

It is also alarming that the only entity that can make a statement about the removal of some information, there will be another user. Find out whether it really right or decided to just make a joke or annoy someone, the operator must be the social network just for a day! How much should be in the state of the social network operator people so that they can accept and process a lot of applications? And there will be a lot of "VKontakte" registered more than 95 million users, Facebook of more than two billion.

While there are more questions than answers. The law does not correspond to reality. Comply with the requirements in practice will be either difficult or technically impossible.