Russian Libertarians Protest Censorship Bill
Russian President Vladimir Putin pictured in 2017 after meeting with the Moldovan president.
Thousands of protesters rallied in Russian cities, including Moscow, on March 10 in opposition to Russia’s proposed “sovereign internet” law. Activists first raised concerns over the policy in February when Russia outlined its experiment to disconnect from the internet. NPR reports that the draft bill requires Internet providers to ensure continuity of internet access if foreign cyber-attackers cut the Russian internet off from the rest of the world.
In practice, however, the Moscow Times explains that this would create “an internet that can be cut off from the rest of the world,” as all internet communication would need to be routed within the country as opposed to servers abroad.
This is not the first large internet protest Russia has seen recently. The Moscow Times writes that in April 2018, Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulator, attempted to crack down on the messenger app Telegram, through which users can send encrypted messages. In response, Russia’s Libertarian Party organized a rally in Moscow which drew over 12,000 people, making for the largest protest of that year.
Wired explains that Russia’s prior attempts to ban Telegram failed because the company circumvented ISP censorship. However, as reported by the Moscow Times, critics worry that this bill could definitively block Telegram and other non grata services. The Independent adds that VPNs, which many Russians use to access blocked information, would become totally inaccessible.
Like last year’s Telegram protests, the most recent marches were organized by the Libertarian Party. According to Meduza, the crowd in Moscow may have numbered as high as 15,200, with 28 protesters detained by police.
While most sources attribute the protests to the sovereign Internet bill, Meduza notes two other active bills, which outlaw “fake news” and “insults against state officials.” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reports that these bills passed through the Federation Council and State Duma on March 13.
Organizers realize that their action was, for now, only symbolic. According to Meduza, Libertarian leader Vladimir Osenin closed the rally by proclaiming that the protesters “haven’t achieved anything yet.”
Whether or not the protests will impact legislative proceedings will be determined when the draft bill is debated for the second time by legislators later in March, reports the Independent. Russian journalist Andrei Soldatov assured NPR that the bill “will surely be approved.” He adds that Yandex and Mail.ru, two prominent Russian web companies, support the bill.
However, whether the most drastic provisions remain by the time it becomes law is an open question. Political analyst Yekaterina Schulmann, predicted to the Moscow Times that the legislature will make careful corrections to the law if enough people protest. Chief analyst of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications, Karen Kazaryan, claims that it is unlikely Moscow could execute a project of such scale. An activist and opponent of the sovereign internet law, Mikhail Svetov, counters that Russians “carry out infrastructural projects perfectly when they realize that their power depends on it,” citing the Kerch Bridge and the Sochi Olympics.
Although public outcry failed to stop Russia’s earlier assault on Telegram, the Kremlin has since lost significant support.