Russia will demand that large technology companies operating in its territory have local operations. This measure is based on the new legislation in that country, approved in July 2020, but it is only now that the federal body that oversees media activities wants to see it applied.
Roskomnadzor, the country’s institution that handles that section, called 13 companies to inform them of the requirement, where the list includes names such as Apple, Google, Meta (owner of Facebook), Telegram, TikTok and Twitter, according to Reuters (via NewsBreak).
The law approved by Russian parliamentarians defines the mandatory local presence rule for internet companies that daily serve more than 500,000 users, which exactly means having an official presence in the Russian country, since some of the companies already have local offices . For Russian lawmakers, the passage of this law is a way of strengthening the capacity to regulate these companies locally.
On the other hand, companies that fall under this law and decide not to comply with it, a varied number of sanctions are expected, from limitations to activity in the area of advertising, data collection and money transfers, as well as the prohibition of activity in the country.
The same companies were given a cut-off date of until the beginning of next year, and where to be subject to the approved law is practically to be in the country according to local rules, which means more room for maneuver by the authorities for some type of censorship.
It should be recalled that on the way for two months, the same Roskomnadzor has threatened to block YouTube if the social network continues to refuse to lift the suspension of the German accounts of the Russian public television channel RT.
