FSB will be able to block communications by Putin's decision
The FSB will be able to block communications in Russia and its individual regions even in the absence of a security threat. The decision on shutdowns will be made by Vladimir Putin, according to amendments to the "On Communications" law prepared for the second reading. Changes have been made to the new version of the bill that will make the decision-making process for shutdowns even simpler than originally planned, lawyers interviewed by "Agentstvo" said. Photo: "Agentstvo". The version of the document that passed the first reading stated that communication services are terminated after an FSB "request" in cases "established by normative legal acts of the president and government, in order to protect citizens and the state from emerging security threats." In the current version, the special service's "request" has been changed to a "demand," and the mention of the government and "security threats" has been removed, "Agentstvo" noted. The current version of the bill suggests that only Vladimir Putin will set restrictions, cyber lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan told the publication. In addition, the introduced changes will allow restrictions on communication not only due to "security threats," added "First Department" lawyer Evgeny Smirnov. "OvD-Info" lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina noted that the bill will expand the powers of the FSB. Due to the disappearance of mentions of the government and "security threats" from the amendment, according to her, the introduction of shutdowns will be more centralized and less restricted by grounds. At the same time, the change in wording is unlikely to affect the practice of applying the bill, Vetoshkina believes. According to her, it is more likely to "simplify the legal formalization of such requirements and reduce formal barriers." Amendments to the "On Communications" law, prepared by the government, were submitted to the State Duma in November 2025. At the end of January, deputies unanimously adopted the document in the first reading.
