Russian president signs the Runet law
After the Russian State Duma adopted the law on stable operation of the Runet, it has been approved by the Federation Council which is the upper chamber and signed by President Putin on 1 May. The law is set to take effect on 1 November 2019 and should ensure what Kremlin refers to as a ’sustainable, secure, and fully functioning’ Russian Internet in case it is disconnected from the global infrastructure of the world wide web. Critics have warned that it will expand governmental control over the Internet and lead to censorship and surveillance over wide parts of the network. Russian officials first submitted the new measures in December 2018 as a response to the United States cyber strategy following the 2016 presidential elections.
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