Information Law No. 149-FZ

Main article: Censorship (control) on the Internet. Experience of Russia

2024: Ministry of Digital Development to fix definitions of IaaS, SaaS and digital platforms in law

On the website of the publication of draft regulatory legal acts at the end of April, the text of amendments (No. 147441^[1] to the Federal Law No. 149-FZ "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" appeared. In particular, it proposes to introduce a definition for concepts such as digital platform, government digital platforms, electronic service, cloud computing services (IaaS) and cloud software services (SaaS). The bill also proposes to introduce four levels of subordination for state information systems: federal, regional, municipal and departmental. Public discussion of the document will last until May 11.

Plan of adoption of amendments to federal law No. 149-FZ

The explanatory note says that this bill was developed as part of the implementation of the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 9, 2020 No. 3277-r in order to inventory IT resources created or acquired for the exercise of their powers by the Federal Public Administration, executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and management bodies of state extra-budgetary funds. The document lists the following list of goals pursued by lawmakers:

• clarification of the concept of "information system";
• expansion of the conceptual device in terms of cloud services;
• ensuring the possibility of attracting state administration of subordinate budgetary or autonomous institutions for digitalization;
• specifying the criteria for classifying information systems as state information systems;
• empowering the Government of the Russian Federation to determine general requirements for the development of regulatory legal acts regulating the use of state IP;
• extension of requirements for the location on the territory of the Russian Federation of technical means used to ensure the functioning of state information systems, including state extra-budgetary funds, public law companies and state corporations;
• clarification of the provisions of municipal and departmental information systems;
• establishing legal regulation of the use of electronic services, IaaS and SaaS services, including in state IPs.

The bill proposes additional regulatory measures aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of the creation and subsequent accounting of state information systems, taking into account the modern aspects of their creation and development, including as part of digital platforms and ecosystems.

If earlier the information system was defined as follows: "the totality of information contained in databases and providing its processing of information technologies and technical means," then in the new bill this definition is planned to be greatly expanded: "a set of information contained in databases, as well as hardware and programs for computers (including those presented in such a system through electronic services, cloud services for providing computing resources and (or) cloud services for providing software), through which information technologies are implemented in relation to such information."

Also, the new bill defines the concept of a digital platform, where, in addition to the information system itself, procedures and documents are also added that determine the rules for the functioning of such a system, and even components of the information and telecommunication infrastructure. Moreover, a definition of state digital platforms has also been introduced, which are created with the aim of "providing state and municipal services and performing state and municipal functions in electronic form, and intended for digitalization of state (municipal) management in one area of ​ ​ activity of state bodies (local governments) and (or) public legal entities."

After the introduction of the new bill, it is planned to identify four types of information systems: federal state IPs, the work of which is regulated at the level of federal legislation and FOIVs, regional state IPs (the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are responsible for them), municipal IPs controlled by municipal authorities, and departmental IPs whose regulation will be carried out at the level of individual government departments.

However, the Government of the Russian Federation reserves the right to determine the general requirements for the development of regulatory legal acts that will regulate regional, municipal and departmental IPs. And some features of the creation and operation of such information systems can be regulated by technical regulations.

Moreover, the bill itself already has a requirement to place the technical means of all the listed IPs, including cloud services, IaaS and SaaS providers, on the territory of the Russian Federation, which will not allow placing state and municipal IPs in foreign clouds. Thus, the bill strengthens territorial restrictions on state, municipal and departmental information systems, prohibiting the use of foreign cloud services and services in their composition.

It should be canceled that this bill is the third - the Ministry of Digital Development put forward similar legislative initiatives in 2021 and 2022.

2020: YouTube, Twitter and Instagram in Russia will be fined 20% of annual revenue for refusing to remove illegal content

On December 23, 2020, the State Duma in the third final reading adopted a law on large fines for social networks and other Internet services for refusing to remove illegal content.

According to the bill, which was developed by deputies Alexander Khinshtein and Sergei Boyarsky, citizens will face a fine of 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles for failure to remove the owner of a site or information resource, as well as a hosting provider for prohibited data, for officials - from 200 thousand to 400 thousand, for legal entities - from 800 thousand to 4 million rubles.

If the owner of the site does not restrict access to information with calls for extremism, pornographic images of minors or methods of acquiring, making or using drugs, then the fines will be higher.

YouTube, Twitter and Instagram in the Russian Federation will be fined by 20% of annual revenue for refusing to remove illegal content

Citizens will be fined 100-200 thousand rubles, officials - from 400 to 800 thousand rubles, legal entities - from 3 to 8 million rubles. For repeated violation, individuals will receive a fine in the amount of 200 to 500 thousand rubles, officials - from 800 thousand to 1 million rubles, legal entities - 10-20% of revenue per year, but at least 8 million rubles.

The authors of the bill argue that "often" the requirement to remove content prohibited in the Russian Federation is violated by "large Internet resources registered outside the Russian Federation."

According to the new law, foreign social networks should also create a representative office in Russia and in every possible way block incitement to hatred and defaming inaccurate data.

On December 23, 2020, the State Duma also adopted in the third reading a bill obliging social networks to independently identify and block illegal content from February 1, 2021.

The document says that social networks will have to monitor the content posted in them in order to identify and block illegal information. We are talking about materials with pornographic images of minors, information that encourages children to commit life-threatening illegal actions, data on the methods of making and using drugs, methods of committing suicide and calling for it, advertising the remote sale of alcohol and online casinos.^[2]

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