As part of a package of legislative amendments aimed at combating online crime, the Russian authorities are planning to ban officials from conducting any government-related correspondence via foreign-owned messenger services, state-affiliated business daily RBC reported on Monday.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko said that the package of amendments had been drawn up after an analysis of the most common types of online fraud schemes.
If approved, the amendments would entail a ban on the use of foreign instant messengers such as Whatsapp or Telegram for official communications, as well as on communications between companies, their clients and users. In addition to government employees, the ban would extend to staff working at banks and for telecom operators, among others.
The amendments will require state media regulator Roskomnadzor to draw up a list of the messengers affected. Only Russian services verified by the Unified Identification and Authentication System, ESIA, which was created by Rostelecom in 2011, will be permitted for use.
Legislators are also to vote on whether telecom operators should be obliged to provide customer information to the authorities upon request to help combat online crime. The proposed amendments also include making calls from international numbers and companies identifiable, thus helping customers avoid cold calling and phone scams.
In December, Vladimir Putin instructed Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the Interior Ministry and the FSB to introduce measures that block telephone calls from Ukraine as well as from some other “unfriendly” countries that he said were being used for criminal purposes.
