Foreign
THE Russian state assumed the power to disconnect the country from the global internet on Friday as a controversial law signed by President Vladimir Putin went into effect.
The government intends to create infrastructure for a sovereign internet in what it has presented as a necessary defence against cyber attacks from abroad.
Critics see the measure as a step towards increased censorship.
“This is the first time that the state has full technical control over the internet,’’ Russian internet expert Alexander Isavnin of the anti-censorship organisation, Roskomsvoboda, told dpa.
Whereas Russian internet providers previously operated under free market conditions, now the Russian state can exert direct control, Isavnin said.
Russian internet traffic is to be directed via hubs within the country, infrastructure for which has yet to be built.
Internet providers must install the equipment needed to conduct the transition.
The media rights organisation, Reporters Without Borders, has spoken out about the measure as serving to increase internet censorship and thereby violate fundamental freedoms.
Numerous political opposition sites have already been blocked in the country.
Many Russians fear that the country will become digitally isolated with increased oversight by the state security services.
Thousands of people have demonstrated against the law, signed by Putin in May. But the Russian leadership has rejected the criticism.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has emphasised that Russia does not plan to disconnect itself from the internet but is preparing for the potential that the West could disconnect it.
Putin has defended the measure as a matter of national security.
International activist group, Human Rights Watch, called on Russia to desist from implementing the measure.
“The law creates a system that is open to abuse by giving the government virtually unlimited ability and authority to continuously monitor all internet activity to identify possible threats,’’ the organisation said in a statement.
“This law allows for colossal, extrajudicial blocking of speech and information without transparency, proper judicial authorisation or meaningful oversight,” Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, was quoted as saying.
NAN
– Nov. 1, 2019 @ 17:25 GMT |
Tags: Russian state takes control of internet as disputed law enters force
