The President has signed a law which may have an impact on Internet users and website owners.
The Law amends the Act "On Information, Information Technologies and the Protection of Information" and the Act "On Communications". The law introduces new requirements for the owners of Internet sites and their users.
Registration of users on Internet sites
Under the law, owners of Russia-based websites will be required to authorize users located in Russia in one of the following ways:
- via the telephone number of a Russian operator;
- through the "Gosuslugi" portal;
- using the Unified Biometric System;
- using "another information system".
The another system must not only provide authorization of website users, but its owner must be a Russian citizen with no citizenship of another country, or a Russian legal entity with less than 50% foreign participation.
According to the authorities, the above requirements are currently met by VKontakte or Russian services such as Yandex and Mail.
Thus, the new requirements will affect only those sites which provide for user authorization. And it will be prohibited to use the mail of foreign services for authorization on sites.
The new legal requirements do not establish the liability of website owners for violation, and their users who have previously registered on a website using foreign mail will not have to undergo authorization again.
The law came into force on July 31, 2023.