Roskomnadzor
| Роскомнадзор | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 3, 2008 |
| Jurisdiction | Russia |
| Headquarters | Kitaygorodsky pass,7/2 Kitay-gorod Moscow |
| Employees | 3,019 (2017) |
| Annual budget | 8.5 billionrubles(US$127 million) (2016) |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media |
| Website | eng |
TheFederal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media,[a]abbreviated asRoskomnadzor(RKN),[b]is the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, controlling and censoring Russianmass media.Its areas of responsibility include electronic media, mass communications, information technology and telecommunications, supervising compliance with the law, protecting the confidentiality of personal data being processed, and organizing the work of the radio-frequency service.
History[edit]
In March 2007, the authority—then a subdivision of the Cultural Ministry of Russia called "Russian Federal Surveillance Service for Compliance with the Legislation in Mass Media and Cultural Heritage Protection" (Rosokhrankultura)—warned theKommersantnewspaper that it should not mention theNational Bolshevik Partyon its pages, as the party had been denied official registration.[2]
The Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications was re-established in May 2008. Resolution number 419, "On Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications", was adopted on February 6, 2008.[3][4]
In December 2019, media criticized the service's choice of experts who are performing analysis of referred publications to assess their compliance with regulations. A number of experts recruited byRoscomnadzorare associated withpseudo-scientificand sectarian movements, includingHIV/AIDS deniers,ultra-conservative,anti-vaccinationandalternative medicineactivists. Three such experts—Anna Volkova, Tatyana Simonova and Elena Shabalina—assessed lyrics of popular rapperEgor Kreedin which they found "mutagenic effect", "satanic influence" and "psychological warfare".[5]
Also in 2019,Roskomnadzorpublished the first iteration of the "list of information resources who had in the past been spreading unreliable information" including a number of social media groups and media websites accused mostly of incorrectly reporting on a single incident inDzerzhinskin June 2019.[6][7]
Afternationwide pro-Navalny protestsin 2021,Roskomnadzorfined seven social media companies for not removing pro-Navalnyvideos: "Facebook,Instagram,Twitter,TikTok,VKontakte,OdnoklassnikiandYouTubewill be fined for non-compliance with requirements to prevent the dissemination of calls to minors to participate in unauthorized rallies "it said in a statement published on its website.[8][9]
On 10 March 2022, 820 GB of Roskomnadzor data was leaked and published, with the hacking groupAnonymousclaiming responsibility. Anonymous engaged inseveral cyberattacks against Russian websitesas the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraineoccurred.[10][11]
Because of its actions that supported the invasion of Ukraine, Roskomnadzor has been sanctioned by Ukraine, the European Union and Canada.[12]
In February 2023, it was revealed thatBelarusian Cyberpartisanshad hacked and leaked Roskomnadzor data to journalists. The leak exposed surveillance and censorship programs and ways to discredit journalists.[13][14][15][16][17][18]
Purpose[edit]
Roskomnadzoris a federal executive body responsible for control, censorship, and supervision in the field of media, including electronic media and mass communications, information technology and communications functions control and supervision over the compliance of personal data processing requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of personal data, and the role of co-ordinating the activities of radio frequency service. It's an authorized federal executive body for the protection of human subjects of personal data.[19]It is also the body administering RussianInternet censorshipfilters.[20]It also designs and implements procedures ofRussian Autonomous Internet Subnetwork,like inventory of RussianAutonomous Systems,alternative DNS root serversin Russian National Domain Name System, controls localISPsinterconnect andInternet exchanges.The main goal is to provide access toRussian Autonomous Internet Subnetworkeven after disconnect or isolation from the globalInternet(Sovereign Internet Law)
Enforcement actions[edit]
On 31 March 2013,The New York Timesreported that Russia was "selectively blocking [the] Internet".[21]In 2014, during theCrimea Crisis,Roskomnadzorhad a number of websites criticising Russian policy inUkraineblocked, including the blog ofAlexei Navalny,Kasparov.ruandГрани.ру.[22]Also, on 22 June 2016Amazon Web Serviceswas entirely blocked for a couple of hours because of a poker app.[23][24]
As of April 2024, 200,000 websites related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine are blocked.[25]Roskomnadzoris blocking around 150virtual private network(VPN) services and 700 websites involved in advertising VPNs.[25]
GitHub[edit]
In October 2014,GitHubwas blocked for a short time. On December 2,GitHubwas blocked again for some satiric notes, describing "methods of suicide",[26]which caused major tensions among Russian software developers. It was unblocked on 4 December 2014 and GitHub had set up a special page[27]dedicated toRoskomnadzor-related issues. All content was and remains available for non-Russian networks.
Russian Wikipedia[edit]
On 5 April 2013, it was confirmed by a spokesperson forRoskomnadzorthatWikipedia had been blacklistedover the article "Cannabis smoking"(Курение каннабиса) on the Russian Wikipedia.[28][29]
On 18 August 2015, an article inRussian Wikipediaaboutcharas(Чарас (наркотическое вещество)(in Russian)) was blacklisted byRoskomnadzoras containing propaganda on narcotics. The article was then rewritten from scratch using UN materials and textbooks, but on 24 August it was included in the list of forbidden materials sent toInternet providersof Russia.[30]As Wikipedia uses theHTTPSprotocol to encrypt traffic, effectively all of the site with all language versions[dubious–discuss]of Wikipedia was blocked in Russia on the night of August 25.[citation needed]
On 1 March 2022,Roskomnadzorthreatened to block access toRussian Wikipediaover the article "Вторжение России на Украину (2022)"(" Russia's invasion of Ukraine (2022) "), claiming that the article contained" illegally distributed information "including" reports about numerous casualties among service personnel of the Russian Federation and also the civilian population of Ukraine, including children ".[31][32]Roskomnadzormade similar threats on 31 March, demanding that Wikipedia remove any information about the invasion that is "misinforming" Russians or it could face a fine of up to 4 millionrubles(approximatelyUS$49,000).[33]
The Daily Stormer[edit]
In 2017, theneo-NaziwebsiteThe Daily Stormerwas briefly moved to a Russiandomain name,butRoskomnazdorsubsequently acted to remove its access, and the site moved to thedark web.[34]
Telegram[edit]
On 16 April 2018,Roskomnadzorordered RussianISPsto block access to the instant messengerTelegram,as the company refused to hand over theencryption keysfor users' chats to Russian authorities.[35]The information watchdog applied the method of massIP address blockings,hitting major hosting providers, such asAmazon,and disrupting hundreds of Russian internet services.[36][35][37]Roskomnadzorhad to abandon this approach, but failed to implement any other means to stop Russian users from accessing Telegram. In the end,Roskomnadzorand other government structures set up their own channels in the "outlawed" app. In mid-2020 Roskomnadzor officially gave up on trying to block Telegram.[38]
Twitter[edit]
On 10 March 2021,Roskomnadzorstarted to "slow down"Twitterfor users in Russia, attributing the decision to the platform's failure to remove content deemed illegal by the Russian government.[39]This action occasionally caused Russia's key websites, includingRoskomnadzoritself, to stop working. It also led to malfunctions of major commercial services, such asQiwipayment system, and blocked some users from accessing Yandex, Google, and YouTube. In addition, along with Twitter,Roskomnadzorthrottled access to numerous websites with domain names ending in "t.co" (t.co being among the Twitter domain), thus affecting no fewer than 48 thousand hosts, includingGitHub,Russia Today,Reddit,Microsoft,Google,Dropbox,Steam.[38][40]
On 26 February 2022, following theRussian invasion of Ukraine,Twitter said that access to the platform was being restricted to some users in Russia.[41]On 1 March,Roskomnadzoragain slowed access to Twitter, accusing the company of failing to remove what it called "fake posts" about the "special operation".[42]
On 28 April 2022, Twitter was fined 3 million rubles (US$41,000) after being sued byRoskomnadzorfor not removing content that included instructions for how to prepare and usemolotov cocktailsagainst Russian armored vehicles.[43]
Meta[edit]
On 4 March 2022,Roskomnadzorsaid it was blocking access toFacebookover restrictions that were imposed on Russian state media outlets.[44]On 21 March, further action was taken after a court ruled thatMeta Platformswas guilty of "extremist activity", affecting access to Facebook andInstagrambut notWhatsApp.[45]The ruling came after aReutersreport stated that Meta would allow its users to post messages supporting violence against Russian soldiers and Russian president Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine; however, Meta later narrowed its moderation policy to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state.[46]
Google[edit]
In April 2022,Roskomnadzorfined Google more than 7 billion rubles (US$94 million), for not removing what it claimed was illegal content from YouTube.[47]
TikTok[edit]
In April 2022,Roskomnadzordrew up a protocol and a court in Moscow fined TikTok two million rubles (US$27,000) for not removing content related to theLGBTcommunity.[48]
Chess.com[edit]
On 23 April 2022,Roskomnadzorblocked theonline chesswebsiteChess.comin Russia because of two articles that were critical of theRussian invasion of Ukraineand links to those articles replacing the flags of all Russian users on the website.[49][50]
See also[edit]
- Ofcom
- Cyberspace Administration of China
- Censorship in Russia
- Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation(Rospechat)
- Information privacy
- Internet censorship in Russia
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Руководитель Роскомнадзора Андрей Юрьевич Липов".Роскомнадзор.Retrieved28 December2020.
- ^"Ъ-Газета - И звать их никак"[Kommersant-Gazeta - And there is no way to call them]. 30 March 2007.Retrieved29 August2015.
- ^"Current structure of the Government of Russia"(in Russian).Government of Russia.Archived fromthe originalon 29 April 2009.Retrieved15 May2009.
- ^""УКАЗ Президента РФ от 12.05.2008 N 724" Вопросы системы и структуры федеральных органов исполнительной власти """[ "Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 12 May 2008 N 724" Issues of the system and structure of federal executive bodies "" ].graph.document.kremlin.ru.Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2012.Retrieved28 December2011.,p. 2
- ^"Познакомьтесь с людьми, которые решают, какие произведения искусства вредны для ваших детей Как экспертами Роскомнадзора становятся сторонники движений, связанных с сектами и лженаукой"[Meet the People Who Decide Which Works of Art Are Harmful to Your Children].meduza.io.Retrieved6 December2019.
- ^"How does Russia fight fake news?".European Audiovisual Observatory.Retrieved6 December2019.
- ^"Перечень информационных ресурсов, регулярно распространяющих недостоверную информацию"[List of information resources that regularly disseminate false information].Роскомнадзор.Retrieved6 December2019.
- ^"Социальные сети будут привлечены к ответственности за вовлечение подростков в противоправную деятельность"[Social networks will be held accountable for involving teenagers in illegal activities].Роскомнадзор.Retrieved27 January2021.
- ^Isachenkov, Vladimir (29 January 2021)."Moscow court puts several allies of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny under house arrest".The Globe and Mail Inc. The Associated Press.
- ^Marsden, Ariella (10 March 2022)."Anonymous hacks Russian federal agency, releases 360,000 documents".The Jerusalem Post.Retrieved10 March2022.
- ^Best, Lorax B. Horne and Emma (10 March 2022)."Release: Roskomnadzor (820 GB)".Distributed Email of Secrets.Retrieved14 March2022.
- ^"Roskomnadzor | War and sanctions".
- ^"A regulator leak helps us understand how censorship works on the Russian internet".The Bell — Eng.14 February 2023.Retrieved19 February2023.
- ^"IStories, Süddeutsche Zeitung: Russia's censorship agency monitors negative comments about Putin and his health online and keeps track of protest attitudes".Novaya Gazeta Europe.8 February 2023.Retrieved19 February2023.
- ^"A 'Wild Boar' trained by Yandex A massive data leak reveals the ascent of artificial intelligence in Internet surveillance and suppressing protest in Russia".Meduza.Retrieved19 February2023.
- ^"Как Роскомнадзор власть Путина бережет".istories.media.Retrieved19 February2023.
- ^Belovodyev, Daniil; Bayev, Anton (9 February 2023)."Inside The Obscure Russian Agency That Censors The Internet: An RFE/RL Investigation".Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.Retrieved19 February2023.
- ^"RussianCensorFiles - Distributed Denial of Secrets".ddosecrets.com.Retrieved19 February2023.
- ^"Постановление от 16 марта 2009 г. №228 О Федеральной службе по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций"[Decree of March 16, 2009 No. 228 On the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media]. Archived fromthe originalon 7 April 2013.Retrieved9 April2013.
- ^"This is how Russian Internet censorship works A journey into the belly of the beast that is the Kremlin's media watchdog".Meduza.13 August 2015.Retrieved17 April2018.
- ^Kramer, Andrew E. (31 March 2013)."Russians Selectively Blocking Internet".The New York Times.Retrieved1 January2016.
- ^"Нас блокируют. Что делать?"[We are being blocked. What to do?]. Grani.ru. 2014.
- ^Eurasiatx (22 June 2016)."Russia blocks Amazon Web Services".Retrieved23 June2016.
- ^The Moscow Times(23 June 2016)."Russian Media Watchdog Unblocks Amazon Storage Service Website".Retrieved23 June2016.
- ^ab"Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 23, 2024".Institute for the Study of War.23 April 2024.Retrieved24 April2024.
- ^Ingrid Lunden (5 December 2014)."To Get Off Russia's Blacklist, GitHub Has Blocked Access To Pages That Highlight Suicide".TechCrunch.AOL.Retrieved29 August2015.
- ^"github/roskomnadzor".GitHub.Retrieved29 August2015.
- ^Sputnik (5 April 2013)."Russia May Block Wikipedia Access Over Narcotics Article".Retrieved29 August2015.
- ^RBTH, Interfax (5 April 2013)."Russian media regulator confirms Wikipedia blacklisted | Russia Beyond the Headlines".Rbth.ru.Retrieved1 January2016.
- ^"Kremlin moves to ban Russian Wikipedia".Financial Times.24 August 2015.Retrieved29 August2015.
- ^"Moscow threatens to block Russian-language Wikipedia over invasion article".National Post.1 March 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 1 March 2022.Retrieved2 March2022.
- ^"Russia threatens to block Wikipedia over Ukraine invasion article: Its communications regulator cited 'illegally distributed information' about casualty figures".www.engadget.com.2 March 2022.Retrieved3 March2022.
- ^Saul, Derek (31 March 2022)."Russia Demands Wikipedia Take Down Information About Ukraine War".Forbes.com.Retrieved31 March2022.
- ^"Daily Stormer: Cloudflare drops neo-Nazi site".BBC News.27 August 2017.
- ^abRoth, Andrew (17 April 2018)."Russia blocks millions of IP addresses in battle against Telegram app".The Guardian.Guardian News & Media.
- ^"Russia's federal censor blocks millions of IP addresses in crackdown on Telegram, disrupting Internet services across the country".Meduza.17 April 2018.
- ^Evdokimov, Leonid(29 December 2018)."Russia vs. Telegram: technical notes on the battle".Chaos Communication Congress.
- ^ab"Slow down, Twitter. Roskomnadzor throttles Twitter over failure to remove 'illegal content'".Meduza. 10 March 2021.Retrieved14 March2021.
- ^"Russia blocks access to Facebook and Twitter".the Guardian.4 March 2022.Retrieved7 April2022.
- ^Евгений Делюкин (10 March 2021)."Роскомнадзор вместе с Twitter замедлил сайты GitHub, Microsoft, Reddit и все остальные с сочетанием t.co в домене"[Roskomnadzor slowed down Twitter together with the sites GitHub, Microsoft, Reddit and all the others with a combination of t.co in the domain]. vc.ru.Retrieved14 March2021.
- ^"Twitter says its site is being restricted in Russia".Reuters.26 February 2022.
- ^"Russia reinstates Twitter slowdown, says Meta, Google are 'instigators of war'".Reuters.1 March 2022.
- ^"Twitter the Latest Social Media Platform Russia Fines Over Illegal Content",Newsweek, 28 April 2022
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- ^"Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram under 'extremism' law".NBC News.21 March 2022.
- ^"Russia finds Meta guilty of 'extremist activity' but WhatsApp can stay".Reuters.21 March 2022.
- ^"РКН оштрафовал Google более чем на семь миллиардов рублей"[RKN fined Google more than seven billion rubles].Ria Novosti(in Russian). 25 April 2022.
- ^"Moscow court fines TikTok 2 million rubles for LGBT 'propaganda'",Jerusalem Post, 26 April 2022
- ^"Chess.com Banned By Russia".Chess.com.24 April 2022.Retrieved22 June2022.
- ^"Roskomsvoboda".Telegram.Retrieved22 June2022.
