Regulation of the Digital Economy

History of regulation of the digital economy

2021: FAS has defined the principles of interaction between participants in digital markets

In August 2021, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia presented a draft basic principles for interaction between participants in digital markets. The principles are as follows:

• Reasonable openness of digital platforms;
• neutrality of treatment of different market parties (including competitors);
• ensuring the independence of platform users when interacting with it;
• avoiding expansive and ambiguous language in the rules of operation of digital platforms;
• ensuring the rights of users of the platform, including by considering their appeals and providing them with complete answers.

According to the deputy head of the FAS, Pyotr Ivanov, the developed provisions are the result of processing all proposals of public organizations and legal entities that have entered the service since the beginning of work on the project. They will help avoid the main risks and unfair practices recorded in the industry, he added.

The FAS emphasized that the basic principles of interaction between participants in digital markets are designed to promote transparency, openness of digital markets and ensure the protection of the rights and interests of all their participants, including consumers, suppliers and owners of digital platforms. Each risk has a principle of behavior that the platform must strive to follow in order to level it.

The antimonopoly department also pointed to the need to determine the rules of reason and integrity of digital platforms, which, on the one hand, will contribute to the formation of open, transparent, non-discriminatory conditions for doing business, and on the other hand, ensure the implementation of constitutional rights of citizens, in particular, freedom to receive and disseminate information and privacy.^[1]

2020

Russian laws will temporarily change for the experiments of Yandex, MTS and the state fund related to military development

The Ministry of Economic Development has developed a list of provisions of federal laws, from which certain norms will be temporarily removed in order to create experimental legal regimes to help digital projects. The list of provisions is contained in the draft federal law "On amending certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in connection with the adoption of the federal law" On experimental legal regimes ‎v the field of digital innovation in the Russian Federation. " On June 17, 2020, the bill was submitted for public discussion, which will last until June 23, 2020. More details here.

TAdviser interview with Ruslan Ibragimov - Vice President for Interaction with State Authorities and Public Relations of MTS

In March 2020, Ruslan Ibragimov, Vice President for Interaction with State Authorities and Public Relations of MTS, spoke in an interview with TAdviser about the main priorities of the activity. More details here.

2019

The digital profile of a citizen will begin with the service of bank loans

The pilot project for launching a digital profile of a citizen may be a service for providing a bank loan without filling out questionnaires and presenting paper documents. This follows from the concept generally approved by the working group "Regulatory Regulation" at the ANO "Digital Economy," a meeting of which was held on February 6, 2019 at the site of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

The digital profile of a citizen, created as part of the federal project "Information Infrastructure" of the national project "Digital Economy," allows you to gain access to data from state information systems. This data a citizen will be able to agree to provide to any organization - state or commercial (using a smartphone or computer). More details here.

State Duma-Government: out of 20 priority bills, only one was adopted

On May 28, 2019, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin called on the government to accelerate the introduction of a package of bills to the lower house for the development of the digital economy.

Of the 20 bills that were to be introduced by the government last year and they are a priority, only a single law has been passed to date, and 19 have not been adopted. We must make our economy more competitive: if we do not reconsider our attitude to robotics, artificial intelligence, we will not reach the indicator, and such a task is set in the president's message, "Volodin said at a plenary meeting.

He also noted that eight bills that were to be submitted to the State Duma in 2018 needed to be developed by the Ministry of Economic Development, four  by the Ministry of Finance, four by the  Ministry of Justice, three  by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications, and one  by the Ministry of Labor.

For example, at the end of 2018, it was planned to adopt a law regarding the definition of automated (self-executing) transactions. Its development was entrusted to the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Ministry of Economic Development is also responsible for the bill on clarifying the procedure for state registration of intellectual property objects, including the possibility of their presentation in the form of digital three-dimensional models. Corresponding changes to the Civil Code were planned in December 2018.

The Ministry of Communications was responsible for the adoption by April 2019 of a federal law aimed at establishing unified requirements for a universal enhanced qualified electronic signature and its visualization in an electronic document.

In addition, it was planned to adopt a law developed by the Ministry of Economic Development on the phased transition to electronic passports.^[2]

2018

Named bills that require priority approval by the State Duma

The Supervisory Board of the ANO Digital Economy named bills that require priority approval by the State Duma, which became known on December 10, 2018. More details here.

The bill on the introduction of the concepts of "digital law" and "digital money" was submitted to the State Duma

As it became known at the end of March 2018, the State Duma introduced a draft federal law "On Amendments to Parts One, Two and Four of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation," which creates the basis for regulating legal relations within the digital economy.

In general, the bill is designed to consolidate several basic provisions in the Civil Code that will allow regulating the market for new objects of economic relations ("tokens," "cryptocurrency," etc.), provide legal conditions for making and executing transactions in the digital environment ("smart contracts," "self-executing" transactions, etc.) and provide protection to citizens and legal entities for such transactions. More details here.

2017

Plan to consolidate the legal status of Runet

During a meeting of the Government Commission on the Use of Information Technologies, held at the end of December 2017, a plan was approved to amend the federal law of 07.07.2003 No. 126-FZ "On Communications" within the framework of the state program "Digital Economy." Legislative innovations are designed, in particular, to consolidate the legal status of the Russian segment of the Internet, its infrastructure and its functioning. More details here.

Digital Economy Regulatory Action Plan

In November 2017 , a draft action plan for the Digital Economy program to reform regulatory regulation was published on the portal for public discussion of legislative initiatives.

On December 18, 2017, the plan was approved by the government commission on the use of information technologies to improve the quality of life and business conditions.

The section "Regulatory Regulation" of the program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation" contains two main goals.

The first is the elimination of key legal restrictions and the creation of separate legal institutions aimed at solving the priority tasks of the formation of the digital economy.

The second is the creation of a permanent mechanism for managing changes and competencies (knowledge) in the field of regulation of the digital economy.

Each goal includes a number of tasks. So, within the framework of regulation of legal issues, it is necessary to create conditions for a single digital environment of trust and the sphere of electronic civil turnover, to ensure the introduction and use of innovative technologies in the financial market, to improve standardization mechanisms and so on.

The second objective is aimed at three main objectives. In particular, it is the creation of concepts of regulation of relations and change management within the digital economy, as well as the improvement and monitoring of legal regulation.

Identification with a "mobile" or "cloud" electronic signature

As part of the formation of a single digital trust environment, it is proposed to unify the legislative requirements for identification. In particular, the conditions for performing identification and authentication using a "mobile" or "cloud" electronic signature, as well as using a mobile number and driver's license, should be determined. Legal restrictions on the use of electronic signatures should be eliminated.

In addition, it is proposed to establish a general procedure for remote identification using the Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA) and confirmation of biometric personal data (face image, voice) in the biometric system.

The remote identification mechanism should be accessible to individuals for remote banking services.

In addition, a single digital trust environment involves creating conditions for the mass provision of telemedicine services, including in hard-to-reach areas. To do this, the methods of identifying citizens must be expanded

The same item of the action plan involves the introduction of barrier-free toll collection systems ("free flow") for travel on toll roads.

The period of execution of measures is from January to December 2018.

Self-executing agreements and electronic documents

The task of forming the sphere of electronic civil turnover, in addition to identifying new and clarifying existing requirements for the forms of transactions, offers and obligations, implies the creation of a base of model contracts and exemplary terms of contracts used by counterparties in electronic form and providing for the possibility of self-execution of the agreement.

The concepts of an electronic duplicate/paper document image, the conditions for recognizing the validity of the electronic document, the structure of the electronic document should be clarified. In addition, requirements for the destruction of electronic documents should be defined.

The field of electronic civil circulation also implies the right of insurance agents and insurance brokers to conclude insurance contracts in electronic form. A number of other changes will be aimed at the mandatory indication of the vehicle pledge in the electronic TCP.

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to October 2019.

Conditions for collection, storage and processing of different types of data

In order to improve the data collection and processing environment, the primary legal constraints to the use of data, including geolocation, must be removed. Legal conditions should be created for the development of the market for the use and processing of data, the procedure for access to data, as well as responsibility for unauthorized access to them.

In addition, it is planned to clarify the concepts of "personal data" and "biometric personal data," as well as revise the rules for processing biometric data.

Broad interpretation of the concepts defining professional secrecies has to be eliminated, the order of transfer to the third parties of the data which are a bank secrecy, the mystery of communication, medical secrecy, with the consent of such subjects - for a possibility of processing of the saved-up data for achievement of social, state and economic targets is specified.

In addition, the procedure for disclosing data on equipment used in the Internet of Things, timely connection to the Internet and the safe functioning of devices should be determined.

The procedure of state registration of the software and the hardware-software decisions used in the medical purposes has to be optimized for their operational conclusion to the market.

It is also planned to clarify the norms of antitrust legislation in relation to activities in the field of digital technologies.

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to May 2019.

Electronic patents

In order to use the results of intellectual activity effectively, legal uncertainty must be removed by including information as a subject of civil rights. It is also planned to clarify the procedure for the turnover of programs for computers, clarify the concepts of "program" and "software," provide equal legal protection for various types of programs, regardless of the features of their creation, purpose and introduction into circulation.

It is planned to provide the possibility of describing intellectual property objects in the form of digital models and introduce an electronic form of issued security documents (patents and certificates).

Within the framework of the Law "On Librarianship," the procedure for the free use of works for educational and scientific purposes in electronic form stored in libraries, including without the need for physical presence in the library premises, will be determined.

Also, as part of the task of effectively using the results of intellectual activity, the peculiarities of relations between co-owners of exclusive law will be clarified and the possibilities of recognizing transactions with rights to the results of intellectual activity will be established.

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to May 2019.

Distributed Registry Technology and Digital Letter of Credit

To ensure the legal conditions for the use of new financial technologies, it is planned to define the status and concepts of such digital technologies as "distributed registry technology," "digital letter of credit," "digital mortgage," "cryptocurrency," "token," "smart contract." At the same time, it is specified that the ruble will be the only legal tender in the Russian Federation.

Requirements will also be established for the organization and implementation of production based on the principles of cryptography in the environment of distributed registries ("mining"), including the registration of business entities conducting such activities, as well as the determination of the procedure for its taxation. The regulation of public attraction of funds and cryptocurrencies by placing tokens will be carried out by analogy with the regulation of the initial placement of securities.

In addition, the concepts of crowdfunding activities, their subjects, their rights and obligations, the procedure for establishing requirements and granting preferences should be defined.

A separate item of the task is the provision of legal grounds for the creation on the basis of the Bank of Russia of a special regulatory platform ("sandbox") for testing and studying innovative financial technologies, products and services.

Other activities also include plans to establish mandatory acceptance of payment cards and other cashless funds for all organizations engaged in Internet trading, as well as plans to increase the availability of financial services.

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to February 2019.

Reduced taxes and premiums for software developers and Internet companies

The list of measures to stimulate the development of the digital economy includes projects to introduce a reduced taxation of income from the disposal of rights to intellectual property (Patent Box), as well as to specify the parameters for companies to apply an increasing coefficient to R&D expenses and acquire rights to intellectual property results when calculating income tax.

Additionally, it is planned to optimize the use of a reduced insurance premium rate for Internet companies and software development companies, introduce special personal income tax benefits for business angels, simplify the receipt of Russian tax residency for highly qualified individuals, and expand the deduction of input VAT by Russian companies when "exporting" electronic and IT services.

It is also planned to work out the conditions for taxing Russian online retailers that stimulate the development of electronic commerce and clarify the parameters for taxing VAT services provided in electronic form by foreign sellers.

IT and telecom infrastructure facilities are planned to be included in the list of possible objects of agreements provided for by the PPP law and the concession agreement law.

In addition, the objectives of the incentive include providing preferences for computer, server and telecommunications equipment, means of information security of domestic production in procurement for state and municipal needs, as well as determining the approach to interoperability of program code developed under the state order.

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to October 2019.

Transition to electronic certification and standardization of new technologies

Within the framework of improving standardization mechanisms, barriers to the use of digital models and virtual tests, including modeling of processes for measuring real product parameters, should be eliminated. It is planned to comprehensively reform the legislation in the field of certification in order to increase the competitiveness of Russian technologies and Russian business through the transition to electronic certification. At the same time, regulatory restrictions on the creation of electronic certification centers should be eliminated.

National standards in the field of information security, Big Data, Smart Production, Smart City, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Industrial (Industrial) Internet of Things should be approved.

The period of execution of measures is from January 2018 to December 2020.

Courts by videoconferencing and electronic notary

In the direction of judicial proceedings, it is planned to eliminate legal restrictions on electronic document management, exclude the parallel operation of federal and regional registers of enforcement proceedings, and guarantee the right to participate remotely through videoconferencing systems.

Regarding the activity of notaries, it is planned to establish the possibility of performing a notary act by producing a notary document in electronic form and certifying the fact of signing the document in the presence of a notary with an enhanced qualified electronic signature. It is also planned to introduce a mechanism for remote execution of certain notarial actions by notaries (certifying transactions, witnessing the fidelity of copies of electronic documents and extracts from them, witnessing the translator's signature on the translation of documents from one language to another, certifying the time of presentation of electronic documents, making executive inscriptions in electronic form on an electronic document, examining and fixing content at the time of such inspection of sites, e-mail messages and other actions).

It is also planned to establish the legal status of electronic systems for fixing legal facts (including through distributed registry technologies, etc.) and create a legal framework for an electronic system of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (mediation and online dispute resolution).

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to June 2019.

Implementation of new reporting rules

The task involves developing new approaches to the formation of reporting, as well as conducting studies in terms of inventory of reporting forms, assessing the feasibility of introducing new approaches, inventory of information taken into account in state registries, etc.

It is also planned to formulate recommendations for optimizing reporting and eliminating excessive regulation, as well as to ensure the possibility of reporting to the portals of federal executive authorities using software access (API).

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to March 2020.

Common environment of trust in the EAEU space

In the EAEU space, it is planned to determine the actions of the Russian side to make changes aimed at eliminating the legal restrictions existing in the law of the EAEU for the development of the digital economy and creating conditions for the formation and development of a common environment of trust.

It is also planned to present the position of the Russian Federation on supplementing the agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union of May 29, 2014 with provisions defining the competence of the EAEU and the obligations of member states on organizing and ensuring information cooperation within the Union, regulating data turnover within the EAEU (including personal data), transfer of digital technologies, other areas of implementation of digital policy.

In addition, it is planned to introduce a notification procedure when submitting documents for customs and currency control during the export (import) of software and IT services.

The period of execution of events is from January 2018 to December 2019.

Regulation of the digital economy

It is planned to conduct studies on the possibility of translating legal norms into machine-readable form and automating their execution, developing language and tools for describing self-executing contracts. Research is planned on the formation of a single digital space, taking into account the legal regulation of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for the purposes of socio-economic planning, as well as research on the analysis of the implementation of the competency model in the education system.

Within the framework of the task, the directions of medium-term regulation of the media communication industry should be prepared - telecom operators, information dissemination organizers, mass media.

Another study will be devoted to the development of legislation in the field of robotics and cyber physical systems. In particular, the concepts of cyber physical systems, the procedure for their commissioning and civil turnover, the definition of liability should be defined.

A draft concept of integrated legal regulation of relations arising in connection with the development of the digital economy should also be prepared.

The period of execution of measures is from January 2018 to December 2018.

Change Management

As part of this task, it is planned to give the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation the power to legally regulate the digital economy, establishing its key functions in this area.

At the same time, the concept of organizing the change management process in the field of regulation of the digital economy should be approved.

The period of execution of measures is from October 2017 to October 2018.

Improvement of legal regulation

The functions of the competence center for improving and monitoring the legal regulation of the digital economy should be determined, the cost of their provision should be calculated, the source of financial support for the center's activities should be determined, the necessary decisions on the allocation of funds for its financial support should be made. Also, a personnel reserve of specialists should be formed to attract specialists to work with the competence center, and the expert network should be expanded.

The period of execution of measures is from November 2017 to June 2018.

Pavel Malkov, Ministry of Economic Development - on digital arrest, laws-algorithms, responsibility for artificial intelligence

At the TAdviser IT Government Day conference, held on October 10, 2017, Acting Director of the Department of Public Administration of the Ministry of Economic Development RFPavel Malkov spoke about the priorities and plans to develop regulatory regulation of [[Digital economy Russia's' digital economy ]].

The Digital Economy program was approved by the government in July 2017. The Ministry of Economic Development is responsible for the implementation of the section "Regulatory Regulation."

According to the Ministry of Economic Development, the basis of the economy, along with the formation of new competencies and human capital, should be a new quality of state regulation.

The state, at least, should not become a brake on the digital economy, as a maximum - should give it an incentive for development, "said Malkov.

In the section "Regulatory Regulation" of the Digital Economy program, the department tried to reflect the most practical approaches aimed at solving specific problems. Together with the Ministry of Economic Development, a large number of experts worked on the section, Malkov noted.

The main goal of the section is defined as the formation of a new regulatory environment that provides a favorable legal regime for the digital economy. And six key goals have been identified on which work will be built (see below on the slide).

All tasks in the program are divided into three stages: short, medium and long-term. For each of the stages, a separate concept will be created, which will detail the proposed solutions and ways to implement them. The concept for short-term tasks should appear before the end of 2017.

Some practical measures have already been recorded in the section on regulatory regulation. These include, first of all, the identification and elimination of existing legal restrictions that impede the development of the digital economy, and the formation of basic concepts used in the digital economy. Regulatory regulation of the legal significance of digital data is also a matter of priority.

Another particularly important area is the regulation of labor relations in the digital economy. A huge number of labor documents are still being issued exclusively in paper form. As part of the digital economy, the transition to electronic personnel documents, the rejection of paper labor books, remote conclusion of labor contracts, etc. should be worked out. All this should increase mobility and give impetus to the development of the digital economy, the Ministry of Economic Development expects.

As of October, on the most pressing issues, there are already relevant draft acts and bills that are being discussed. It is necessary to close these areas in 2018.

By 2020, we should approach with a new understanding of the comprehensive legislative regulation of relations and the digital economy, "said Pavel Malkov.

During the work on regulatory regulation, it is necessary to determine a wide range of questions that need to be answered, the official says. For example, who is responsible for the actions of artificial intelligence or whether human rights can be limited based on Big Data. The latter is already starting to happen in reality, Malkov added.

Examples of other difficult issues to discuss are how to turn legal acts into machine-readable algorithms and then make decisions based on them. Or - could a new type of legal responsibility be a ban on the use of Internet technologies: instead of house arrest - a ban on access to a digital environment.

To coordinate regulatory work, a working group was formed, consisting mainly of business representatives. Headed by its vice president. By MTS mid-October 2017, 4 meetings of this group were held, and the business was very actively involved in the work and is discussing a large number of proposals, Malkov says.

According to Pavel Malkov, Acting Director of the Department of Public Administration of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, in 2017, the center of competence for regulatory regulation created on the basis of Skolkovo will have to solve 2 main tasks: to identify regulatory barriers to the digital economy and develop a detailed concept of priority measures. To this end, 14 thematic working groups were formed, about 300 experts were involved in the work.

By mid-October, more than 200 legal restrictions were identified that impede the development of the digital economy. A draft action plan for regulatory regulation has also been formed, which must be approved by the end of October.

Establishment of a competence centre and a regulatory working group

At the end of August 2017, the first meeting of the government subcommission on the digital economy was held, dedicated to the organizational structure of the program. In each direction of the digital economy program, the competence centers that should be created and the heads of working groups elected from business representatives were identified.

Among the centers of competence created are the center in the direction of "Regulatory Regulation." The Skolkovo Foundation was appointed responsible for its creation.

R.S.Ibragimov ("MTS") is the leader of the working group on regulatory regulation.

Drones, Big Data and Blockchain Regulation Plan

In July 2017, at a meeting of the Council on Strategic Development and Priority Projects, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the formation of the digital economy is becoming a national security issue. According to the president, the digital economy is not a separate industry, but a way of life, a new basis for the development of the system of government, economy, business, social sphere and the whole society.

On July 24, 2017, as part of the expert council for the development of the economy of a new technological generation under the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship, it was announced the creation of working groups that will deal with the legislative regulation of unmanned vehicles, big data and blockchain.

The initiator and coordinator of the creation of working groups was the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization for the Promotion of the Development of Robotics and Innovative Technologies PravavRobotov, which brings together representatives of the Russian IT market and legal experts.

The purpose of these working groups is to prepare recommendations and draft laws for the adoption of appropriate legal regulation of the unmanned vehicle industry, Big Data, blockchain, and given that our working groups are the only such associations created on the site of the legislative body, I am sure that in the near future the Russian segment of the digital economy will have legislative regulation, - said the chairman of "Right Robots" Nikita Kulikov

As experts from the transport and logistics market and business, the management of the domestic transport company Traft was invited to the working groups on drones and big data.

Explaining the reason for inclusion in the working group, Traft Executive Director Arthur Muradyan noted that the company introduces unmanned trucks into its fleet and is preparing for commercial freight transportation along the federal highway, creates professional standards and a union for autobot operators, and develops insurance for unmanned freight transportation. In addition, the carrier is actively developing the direction of big data in the field of logistics, providing its customers with deep analytics on road infrastructure and personnel.

We will "unpack" all our experience in the field of logistics and current projects to regulate drones and big data within the framework of the State Duma working group, "added Arthur Muryadan

The working group also included representatives of legislative and executive authorities, state companies, business representatives - key developers of these technologies, representatives of telecom operators, banks, public organizations, insurers and transport companies.

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