FSB Granted Power to Shut Down Communications for Threats
Mobile operators will be required to disconnect communication services during threats of drone attacks. In such cases, they will not be held responsible to subscribers for providing communication services. The bill was approved by the State Duma today in its first reading.
«The document obliges operators to suspend any communication services upon receiving a request from the FSB »to protect citizens and the state from emerging security threats.« It also provides for operators to be exempt from liability for not providing communication services if it is related to the operator fulfilling the requirements of the FSB. That is, residents will still have to pay for services. »The operator is forced to do this. This is fair,«» explained Deputy Minister of Digital Development Ivan Lebedev.
The deputy minister noted that internet and communication will be completely disabled according to special rules. But these rules are classified.
«»There will be regulatory acts that will specify what to disable or to what extent. But, so that enemies do not find out, they will be closed. These are fine internal settings, based on the FSB«s request,»« explained Lebedev.
As noted by Alexei Kurinnoy, a deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), only federal laws can restrict people«s freedom, not additional rules. In response, Deputy Minister Lebedev promised to show deputies all draft by-laws before the second reading.
This bill was also supported by other deputies and voted on unanimously.
«»We are in a state of war, and we need to protect the country. So that our means of communication do not become guidance for the enemy, this bill is needed. Better without internet than without heat and light,«» emphasized parliamentarian Valery Gartung.
