Putin’s advisor wants a broader definition of personal data and the ‘right to be forgotten’

Igor Shchyogolev, Russia’s former communications minister and now an adviser to Vladimir Putin, has proposed broadening the concept of personal data to include any information about Internet users' activity, such as their actions on social networks. Shchyogolev also advocated that Russia adopt the “right to be forgotten,” which would allow individuals to force websites to remove certain records about past events in their lives.

Speaking at a conference at Roskomnadzor, the Kremlin’s media watchdog, Shchyogolev said it’s necessary to clarify the meaning of personal data, and extend the concept to information about Internet users’ activity, including their search history, geolocation data, and Internet browsing history. All major search engines and social networks collect this kind of information and use it for targeted advertising.

Shchyogolev also says online services should be required to obtain the explicit permission of Russian users before collecting and using data about their activity. Shchyogolev says regulators should act on his recommendations in the coming year. Alexander Zharov, the head of Roskomnadzor, promised to review the proposal. 

These data don’t directly identify users, but they characterize, in part, their worldviews, Shchyogolev says, and can therefore be considered personal.

In July 2014, Vladimir Putin signed a law that will require websites and businesses to store all Russians’ personal data on servers located inside Russia. The law was initially supposed to come into action in 2016, but the Duma accelerated the process last year. The law now takes effect on September 1, 2015.

In early April 2015, the US-based Internet companies eBay and PayPal agreed to transfer storage of Russian users’ personal data to servers based in Russia. Google has allegedly made a similar arrangement to store some user data in Russia.

Representatives of businesses that store user data have repeatedly criticized the data-localization law, saying it’s an excessive, impractical restriction that could lead to the disappearance in Russia of many popular Internet services, including airline-ticket purchasing.