Companies – services Facebook, Gmail and Skype, seem to be facing a big problem in Russia.
Russia’s parliament has passed a bill that could spell trouble for Western tech companies if they don’t start storing their data within the country. The legislation would require Silicon Valley companies like Facebook, Google’s Gmail, and Microsoft’s Skype to transfer all data they collect from Russian citizens to Russian soil, allowing authorities to legally access the data they want.
Currently, Russian authorities don’t have the authority to obtain data stored outside its borders unless they make a legitimate request for mutual legal cooperation, which the country doesn’t want, as it doesn’t like to cooperate.
The amendment, which concerns “Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” and is part of the anti-terrorism laws , will require Russian data to be stored within the country, to be accessible by the state's security services, ZDNet reports.
In this case, if a Russian or foreign email service, social networking site, or instant messaging provider does not provide access to at least six months of data, it will face the possibility of being banned from the country.
The law – which has not yet been ratified by Russian President Vladimir Putin – will force all foreign companies to set up their servers and datacenters inside Russia in order to comply with the law. It will give Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB, formerly the KGB) and other media and “mass media” a regulatory role for the betterment of Russia’s Internet.
The amendment arrives just two weeks after the overturn of similar data retention laws by the EU's top court.
As a non‑member of the European Union, Russia recognises some laws from Brussels – to maintain relations with the bloc of 28 member‑states, but actively rejects others – if nothing else in its legislation, for combating terrorism and data collection.
