Russian censors send Internet providers data request under Internet isolation law that hasn't yet taken effect

Regional divisions of Roskomnadzor, Russia’s censorship and media regulation agency, have sent Internet service providers letters asking for information about their traffic transfer points, technology specialist Philipp Kulin wrote on his Telegram channel. One letter from the Northwest Federal District’s division said the request was made “for the purpose of fulfilling provisions of” Russia’s new Internet isolation law. Kulin wrote that providers in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tomsk have received similar letters.

The Internet isolation law, which allows for Russian Web traffic to be isolated from international traffic and subjected to additional regulation in cases of external threats, will go into effect on November 1, 2019. The national domain name system required under the law is scheduled to be developed by 2021.

Roskomnadzor representatives explained that they had begun collecting data from providers in order to develop a monitoring system that will allow operators to react quickly in case of “threats to the integrity of the RuNet.” Kulin argued that the agency had “gotten ahead of itself.”