
Roskomnadzor, Russia's telecommunications watchdog, announced today that it has instituted administrative proceedings against Facebook and Twitter because of their refusal to move the data of Russian users on servers located inside the country's borders.
"These companies did not provide information on meeting the requirements for localizing the databases of Russian users of the corresponding social networks on servers located in the Russian Federation, as provided for in part 5 of Article 18 of the Law on Personal Data No. 152-ФЗ," the Roskomnadzor stated today.
"Administrative proceedings were instituted on the grounds of an administrative offense in accordance with part 8 of article 13.11 of Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for an administrative fine in the amount of 1 million to 6 million rubles." [$16,000 to $94,000]
The administrative proceedings protocol was signed by a Twitter representative according to the Russian telecom watchdog. While Facebook did not send a representative to the meeting, the company will receive a copy of the protocol within three days according to Russian law.
Bans might also come after Facebook and Twitter get fined
Even though the fines Facebook and Twitter were threatened with might seem laughable on face value, the consequences they might come with are quite serious.
LinkedIn was banned in Russia in November 2015 after it failed to adhere to the law mandating it to store Russians' data on Russian servers.
"Based on a court decision that has entered into legal force, the LinkedIn social network has been entered into the register of violators of the rights of personal data subjects and sent to block telecom operators," the Roskomnadzor said at the time.
The block came two months after the Roskomnadzor filed a complaint against the company in response to an earlier LinkedIn data breach, asking it to move the data of Russian users within Russia according to privacy law enacted in September 2015.
Facebook previously warned of an incoming ban
Facebook was previously threatened to be banned in the country during September 2017 for the same reason. Twitter agreed to the demands of Russian officials at the time and proceeded to inform the Roskomnadzor that it was planning to move Russian users' data by mid-2018.
Roskomnadzor said Friday that a complaint will also be filed in Russian courts next week as reported by The Moscow Times.
A new law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month imposes higher fines for repeat offenders of up to 18 million rubles ($280,500).
(1/2) The Russian government has blocked ProtonMail and ProtonVPN within Russia. We are reaching out to the appropriate authorities to get the block lifted as soon as possible. https://t.co/luTY27FQK4
— ProtonMail (@ProtonMail) January 29, 2020
In related news, Proton Technologies' security-focused ProtonMail and ProtonVPN services were blocked by the Russian government on January 29.
This ban was prompted by Proton's refusal to register their services with Russian authorities — which was asked from all VPN providers operating in Russia as we reported last year — to provide info on the owners of email inboxes used to send the bombing threats.
ProtonMail and ProtonVPN users are advised by the company to access the two services with the help of the Tor service, specifically created to help circumvent censorship.
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