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How to block instant messengers in Russia and what it will eventually lead

Last week the state Duma adopted a bill on regulating the work of messengers in Russia. The document obliges to identify users by phone number or to deny them the exchange of messages. In the edition of “Bill Daily” interviewed experts to understand what will eventually lead this initiative.

Messengers want to be required to identify their users. This can be done through the mobile number you specify in the messenger, and then confirm by SMS. SMS goes through a network operator, and that, in turn, has your passport details.

The law will apply only to officially registered in Russia, the messengers, which are listed in the registry. However, many instant messengers refuse to register. These include, for example, Telegram. Its founder Pavel Durov many times claimed that bring your messenger in the registry is not.

How to block messenger?

Access to unregistered messengers in Russia will be limited. First, users will not be able to go to their sites, and secondly, they will be removed from app stores, or blocked by operators.

The IP addresses of servers on which the applications run, gets to the register of banned resources. The first was already blocked instant messengers such as BBM, Line, Imo.im Vchat, WeChat, Zello. The latter went to the technical tricks, and users were able to use it after blocking.

Line users say they normally use instant messenger, and WeChat in the end has made itself in the registry and was eventually unlocked.

What is the purpose of the bill?

Artem Kozlyuk, head of the public organization “Roskomsvoboda”:

“I see there is a clear lobbying of interests of operators of cellular networks, which is very beneficial to the messengers concluded treaties with them and thus accept their conditions, and perhaps paid them some money. It is no secret that in Russia and in the world network operators believe that the messengers take away their bread, parasitic on infrastructure, are in direct competition with calls and SMS and not pay anything to the owners of these networks. Now the messengers will be required to come to the operators and to conclude treaties with them, representing all sorts of negative consequences for the users themselves, to reveal personal or related user data. Maybe some messengers have to be paid. As a minimum, all users will deanonymization. Also, this has the interest of law enforcement agencies who want to take control of the communications of citizens.”

Stanislav Kozlovskiy, co-chair of the Association of Internet users, a member of the Advisory Council on the Internet and development of e-democracy Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation:

“Even the deputies themselves, representing the law, made no secret that it is, in fact, developed a communications Union. The essence of the law is to ensure that all the messengers are tied to contracts with operators, so there is a visible interest in these organizations. They, in fact, were able to lobby for such a law.”

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Will all your messaging to new rules of the game?

Artem Kozlyuk, “Services that refuse to make itself in the registry (but getting there promises responsibilities for collecting and storing all information about users, all metadata and internal correspondence, calls and provision of their security services) fall under the lock. There already made Blackberry Messenger, Zello, Line. It is not the major instant messengers, but it does signal a larger messengers. What will be the result — to predict difficult. Most likely, these messengers like WhatsApp and Viber, will meet the wishes of state agencies.

WhatsApp, the market in Russia is huge, much more than in the same Telegram, and I think that they do not want to lose it because of possible activities of Roskomnadzor. The part of their users can break away and go to a more loyal messengers. Roskomnadzor carries constantly checking Facebook (owner of WhatsApp. — Approx. ed.), the law on migration. They had to do it in January 2016. And it is clear that Facebook no data is transferred. Then Roskomnadzor will need to make a decision about their lock. But to do this he does not want to, did not take place until a political solution. The talks will be long.

As for the Telegram — judging by the statements of Pavel Durov, he has a principled position. It is not the first mentally prepared to lock their offspring in Russia. Signal and other less well-known, too, will not be recorded in any registers that will be given access to intelligence agencies, or they negate its own raison d’être”.

Stanislav Kozlovsky: “In Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and so there is a reference to the phone number. The new law will not affect them. This will affect those who are not tied to a phone number, Google Hangouts, “Agent” Mail.ru, messengers and social networks. As practice shows, the Google and Facebook servers can not tolerate, so why would they change all the algorithms and to conclude contracts with every operator? Perhaps they will realize that it is profitable. In fact, then merges the entire base of subscribers — citizens of Russia, appear interesting for these organizations promotional and financial opportunities.”

Karen Ghazaryan, General Director of the Institute for Internet studies: “I Assume that until further notice from the RCN no international service will do nothing. Again, practice shows that to blocking a large popular services in Russia usually do not reach. Not to mention the fact that the same Telegram is quite difficult to block from a technical point of view.”

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Messengers will cooperate with the secret services?

Artem Kozlyuk: “Vkontakte” and so responds to all requests of the security services immediately, without judgments and decisions of the court. Most court cases come from the activities of users “Vkontakte”. Very rarely, when someone wrote something in “My world”, there was one case in the “Classmates” and a few cases in LiveJournal. Everything else is “Vkontakte”. For everyone that calls it blocks government agencies and the accounts and records, and the public, provides data and so on. About the other question is a complicated one. Western services have a system that actively turns on the principles of self-regulation — transparency reports transparency reports on requests from government agencies. They publish at will every six months information about the queries from the authorities of all countries. Someone only gives statistical information, someone like Google, even the example queries.

In Russia, as a rule, most of the requests from the authorities rejected. Some requests are accepted — not disclosed what, but surely when someone did post, for example, child pornography. Requests from the foreign court services try to fulfill regardless of jurisdiction, and requests by the FSB, Roskomnadzor and other state agencies to perform more case.”

Stanislav Kozlovsky: “I know that Skype is coming to the state agencies. “VKontakte” is exactly. Regarding Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram, I honestly don’t know. Maybe they are already working, usually such things are not publicized. If such queries are, in this case there is transparency reports, and they have to publish there”.

Are there similar bills in other countries?

Artem Kozlyuk: “Yes, there is, including in European countries. If we talk about the regulation of messenger, there, too, operators of cellular networks really want the messengers have come under some regulation, to begin to monetize their activities. But I do not recall that in the Western world, the law on deanonimizatsii was adopted. Especially a lot of steps is entered by the surveillance of users in European countries including the UK, where it has its “Spring packages”.

In the Eastern world this has made a lot of decisions, in many countries of the Arab world, in South East Asia for a long time. While there’s much more opaque than in Russia, not to mention Western countries. And control, and blocking. Somewhere prohibited already own the tools to bypass locks.

This does not mean that we should follow this trend. There is a certain resistance to it. For example, the United Nations adopted the document, which refers to the right to cryptography, Internet access, a new digital human rights.

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If I have nothing to hide, not to worry?

Artem Kozlyuk: “This view is very dangerous. Giving yourself is in the network, you provide not only security services, but also to fraudsters who may use information about you, your relatives, colleagues and so on. Of course, we need to learn to network hygiene, to use at least the simplest methods of maintaining personal space in a digital environment, the protection of communications. Broad spectrum protection, do what you want — secure e-mail services, instant messengers, VPN, anonymizers, and so forth. You don’t have to be a criminal to hide their information. We do not go outside of our apartment with the personal data printed on the chest — why should we do this online?”

Stanislav Kozlovsky: “Although it is called the law of messengers, in fact in his text the wording is quite broad. There is a speech about the systems and programs through which Internet users can exchange electronic messages. It is not only the messengers are any chat rooms and forums, computer games. All of these organizations and sites — and millions of them — will have to conclude contracts with operators. So, in fact, it is the law that will be applied to the dot objectionable”.

What is the next step to expect?

Artem Kozlyuk: “in 2012 said that there will be bills that take now. A logical next step — the attack on the users themselves. The penalties for circumvention of locks for access to information, for piracy. Perhaps, will introduce white lists and filtering. Not to say that it will be tomorrow or the day after, but the digital version of North Korea cannot be ruled out. Nothing, except that allowed such thoughts have come to mind to some statesmen”.

Stanislav Kozlovsky: “Now the number of locks will grow exponentially. Consideration is already a law on the blocking of mirrors, which is lobbying for the owners. In fact, it is an attack on the entire infrastructure of the Russian Internet. The law, lobbied for the solution of some financial issues, all disguised as security, although security is not relevant”.

Karen Ghazaryan: “the Consequences at all ignorant of the laws are the same — a negative impact on Russian business, the violation of the connectivity of the network, backlog of Russia in the sphere of digital technologies. Continuing the story of the vulnerability of the system “the Inspector General” should show that regulation needs to engage people who understand technology. If we really want to develop a digital economy, there is no other way. And the ways around the locks will always be”.

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