The (Not So) World Wide Web: Russia’s Sovereign Internet Law and Its Effect on Russians’ Access to Information

By: Laura Stickney

In April 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a controversial new law, commonly known as the “sovereign internet” law, that will alter Russia’s access to the global internet.[1] The law generally allows the Russian government to exercise significant control over Russian internet usage by essentially creating its own internet system capable of operating separately from the world wide web.[2] The passing of the law has received significant backlash from groups advocating for the expansion of free speech in Russia, as well as others concerned with Russian citizens’ access to information.[3] Notably, the introduction of the law into Russian parliament comes after accusations from the United States of Russian internet interference in the 2016 presidential election.[4] While many were skeptical about Russia’s capability of creating and operating an alternative internet system, the Russian government announced that it has successfully tested the system in late December 2019.[5]

In its simplest terms, the complex law can be broken down into two distinct actions: the creation of an alternative domain name system (DNS) and the obligation of deep packet inspections (DPI).[6] First, the DNS can be thought of as a phone book for the internet that computers use to translate domain names into IP addresses, “which identifies the correct server on the internet to send the request.”[7] When one server is unable to process a request, another server will step in to process it – making the DNS resilient even when parts of it fail.[8] The foundation of the DNS is largely operated by root servers located in the United States, which is one of the main reasons that Russian officials seek to disconnect from it and operate its own alternative DNS.[9] Although operating an independent DNS will be difficult, requiring the configuration of tens of thousands of systems, if the Kremlin is successful in doing so, it will be capable of creating an “alternative reality for the majority of Russian internet users” by controlling the phone book for Russian internet.[10] For example, a Russian user attempting to access Facebook.com may instead be routed to vk.com – the Kremlin-approved Russian social media alternative.[11] It is not difficult to imagine the freedom of information ramifications that will follow the successful implementation of alternative DNS.

The second aspect of the law, imposing the obligation for DPI on internet service providers in Russia, is equally as troubling. DPI requires internet service providers to install advanced network equipment that is “capable of identifying the source of traffic and filter content.”[12] DPI requires the installation of devices, known as black boxes, at the edge of the internet provider’s network and “all the traffic leaving or entering the network goes through the devices, making it possible to monitor and control it.”[13] The Kremlin argues that the required use of the technology will help protect Russia from foreign interference by allowing the Russian government’s telecommunications watchdog “to independently and extrajudicially block access that the government deems a threat.”[14] Combining the use of DPI devices and an alternative DNS results in the Kremlin possessing almost complete control over Russia’s access to global internet.

The vague definition of “security threat” is left up to the Russian government, allowing it control over what it may deem as threatening.[15] The Human Rights Watch says that the implementation of the new law violates the standards on freedom of expression and privacy protection under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, both of which Russia is a party to.[16] Both of the treaties allow governments to limit rights of expression to protect legitimate national security interests, but “these limitations must be established under clear legal criteria and the least restrictive means of achieving these objectives.”[17] Many critics of the new law also argue that Russia is attempting to move towards a full-fledged censored internet, most notably seen in China.[18] Experts agree that this new law has similarities to China’s strict internet usages; however, Russia lacks the online infrastructure to replicate the Chinese system and it is likely too late in the internet era to begin to build such an infrastructure.[19] One of the main concerns among experts is that the Russian government is likely to use the DPI devices to falsely inflate approval of the government by leverage information to focus on the positive while blocking any negative content.[20] Experts are also concerned with the dangerous effects of a possible internet collapse in Russia.[21] A collapse of an unstable and globally unsupported internet system could completely shut down necessary services, such as hospitals, emergency response systems, and aviation entities.[22]

In response to these concerns, the Kremlin argues that it has not necessarily called for the halting of global internet usage and the full extent of the law is to be used only in emergency situations.[23] In particular, the Russian government expressed concerns about cyber-attacks or sanctions by the United States in response to claims of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.[24] President Vladimir Putin announced on December 24, 2019, that the Kremlin had successfully tested its new domestic internet system and internet users had not noticed a difference – indicating that it would not affect internet consumption in Russia.[25]

Presently, it is unclear to what extent the Russian government is utilizing the new sovereign internet law.[26] With use of the right technology, the law has the potential to cut Russia off from the outside world entirely and censor all information to Russian citizens. Additionally, the law could potentially put millions of people in danger in the event of a system crash, leaving hospitals and airports without internet access. In light of the passing of this sovereign internet law and the reportedly successful system testing, it is looking like the world wide web is going to be getting a little less wide in Russia.

#Russia #InternationalLaw #LauraStickney #Blogpost #InternetAccess

[1] Niall Firth, Russia’s Law that Lets it Disconnect from the Internet Comes into Force Today, MIT Tech. R. (Nov. 1, 2019), https://www.technologyreview.com/f/614662/russias-law-that-lets-it-disconnect-from-the-internet-comes-into-force-today/.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Russia Internet: Law Introducing New Controls Comes into Force, BBC News (Nov. 1, 2019), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50259597 [hereinafter Russia Internet].

[5] Jane Wakefield, Russia ‘Successfully Tests’ Its Unplugged Internet, BBC News (Dec. 24, 2019), https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50902496.

[6] Jan Lindenau, Russia’s Sovereign Internet Law Comes into Force, Moscow Times (Nov. 1, 2019), https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/01/russias-sovereign-internet-law-comes-into-force-a68002.

[7] Charlotee Jee, Russia Wants to Cut Itself Off from the Global Internet. Here’s What that Really Means., MIT Tech. R. (March 21, 2019), https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613138/russia-wants-to-cut-itself-off-from-the-global-internet-heres-what-that-really-means/?utm_source=newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=+the_download.unpaid.engagement.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Russia Internet, supra note 4.

[13] Alexandra Prokopenko, Russia’s Sovereign Internet Law Will Destroy Innovation, Moscow Times (April 21, 2019), https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/04/21/russias-sovereign-internet-law-will-destroy-innovation-a65317.

[14] Merrit Kennedy, New Russian Law Gives Government Sweeping Power Over Internet, NPR (Nov. 1, 2019), https://www.npr.org/2019/11/01/775366588/russian-law-takes-effect-that-gives-government-sweeping-power-over-internet.

[15] Russia: New Law Expands Government Control Online, Human Rights Watch (Oct. 31, 2019), https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/31/russia-new-law-expands-government-control-online#.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Kennedy, supra note 14.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Louise Matsakis, What Happens if Russia Cuts Itself Off From the Internet, Wired (Feb. 2, 2019), https://www.wired.com/story/russia-internet-disconnect-what-happens/.

[22] Id.

[23] Russia Internet, supra note 4.

[24] Kennedy, supra note 14.

[25] Wakefield, supra note 5.

[26] Id.