Deputy PM: Fri meeting participants to mull data laws implementation

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (PRIME) -- Participants of a Friday meeting will discuss ways of implementation of Russia’s controversial data retention laws, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who will preside at the meeting, told reporters on Thursday.

“There are elements of the laws that we understand how to implement in practice, and there is a conclusion of the working group with estimates. We will discuss them,” Dvorkovich told reporters.

“The laws have complicated issues to be weighed: how, when it should be all done. I’d like to stress once again, the government will determine the volume and content of data to be stored.

“We’ve said several times already that it’s a system of data processing that counts in setting the volume, rather than storage. I mean, the best investment is investment that allows to process big data, extract necessary information and details required by law enforcement and other bodies. We should find this balance, and we’ll discuss tomorrow what should be invested in data processing.”

An expert group headed by Open Government Affairs Minister Mikhail Abyzov on Wednesday recommended the government hold additional consultations with connection operators, distributors of information in the Internet, the Industry and Trade Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

President Vladimir Putin signed into law an antiterrorist package, including the data retention laws and orders to the government in 2016.

The laws oblige connection operators and Internet companies to store calls and messages for up to six months from July 1, 2018. Metadata must be stored for three years by connection operators and for one year by Internet companies from July 20, 2016.

Internet companies are also obliged to provide the Federal Security Service with keys in case of additional encoding of messages.

The communications ministry is completing amendments to the data retention laws to reduce the volume of stored information, which can cut operators’ expenses to 100 billion rubles from 5 trillion rubles.

The expert group also decided that voice traffic and text messages should be primarily stored, and they will account for 1–4.5% of the total volume expected to be aggregated and stored for six months. Excessive data, like Internet video and IPTV, accounting for 80% of traffic, will not be stored.

(56.7719 rubles – U.S. $1)

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