On November 1 the Federal Law commonly referred to as the "Law on the secured Internet" will come into force (except for certain parts). The stated purpose of the Law is to create infrastructure to guarantee stable operation of the Russian Internet, i.e. RUnet, in case it is "disconnected" from the global Internet. In order to implement the new rules, a number of subordinate regulations will need to be adopted in the nearest future.

On May 1, 2019 the State Duma of the Russian Federation passed a law which introduced amendments to the Law on telecommunications and the Law on information, information technologies and protection of information having to do with the Russian segment of the Internet (the "Law"). It assigned securing obligations to a wide range of subjects, e.g. communications service providers, proprietors and owners of communication networks, traffic exchange points and communication lines and others if they have a unique identification number for means of communication and other technical facilities on the Internet (i.e. autonomous system number or ASN). The Law also provided the Federal Supervision Agency for Information Technologies and Communications ("Roskomnadzor") with broader powers to ensure stable operation of the Internet in Russia.

According to the Law, communications service providers are now required to install special equipment for countering threats ("equipment"). If any instability or security threats arise, Roskomnadzor can centrally control the public Internet via the equipment or through mandatory instructions to multiple subjects, including communications service providers. Specific regulation addresses traffic exchange points (which are defined as hardware and software packages and/or communications facilities to connect and route network traffic unmodified, provided that the proprietor/owner of the communication network has an ASN). Proprietors and owners of traffic exchange points are required to inform Roskomnadzor when traffic exchange points start running and they cannot connect communication networks whose owners do not comply with applicable legislation.

As of now, Roskomnadzor has already adopted two new orders in pursuance of the Law. The first one establishes the Russian national domain system, which consists of the RU, SU and РФ top-level domains and other top-level domains managed by Russian legal entities which are the registered owners of these domains' databases with international organizations for the distribution of network addresses and domains.

The second order outlines the technical conditions for installing equipment for countering threats (e.g. uninterruptible power supply, compliance with climate impacts, use of interfaces and communication protocols) and requirements to networks. Both of these orders will also come into force on November 1, 2019.

There are around fifteen other draft subordinate regulations available to the public. Most of them received a negative assessment of their regulatory impact of the competent authorities and therefore were not approved. Several draft documents, e.g. establishing the rules for operating the register of traffic exchange points and requirements to ensure the functioning of traffic exchange points, were assessed positively.

According to the public media, Roskomnadzor has already started to install equipment as prescribed by the Law. Equipment testing will continue until the end of October.

Finally, we note that the current Law is one of multiple legal acts regulating the Internet which the Russian authorities have successfully adopted. The latest also include:

About Dentons

Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.