The State Duma of Russia has passed a bill requiring telecom operators to disconnect services at the request of the Federal Security Service (FSB) under certain conditions that will be set by the Russian government, TASS reports.
The bill, introduced by the government last November, was passed in the first reading at the end of January. The amendments concern the "Communications Law." According to the changes, operators will not be held liable for communication disruptions if the shutdown is ordered by the FSB. The bill also mandates that operators disconnect services if requested by the FSB in situations later defined by the government.
If the Russian president signs the law, it will come into effect 10 days after its publication.
As noted by Meduza, the document allows the FSB to block communication even in the absence of a security threat in the country or a specific region. The bill stipulates that telecom operators must "suspend the provision of communication services upon receiving demands from FSB bodies in cases determined by normative legal acts of the Russian president."
In the version of the bill presented for the first reading, communication services were to be suspended upon a "request" from the FSB for the protection of citizens and the state from security threats. In the new version, the term "request" was changed to "demand," and references to the government and security threats were removed.
This change gives the Russian president the authority to establish conditions for communication shutdowns nationwide or in specific regions, without providing an explanation as to whether there are grounds for doing so.
