PRESS: Govt not inclined to delay data retention law, but to amend

MOSCOW, Jul 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian government has rejected a proposal to delay entry into force of the data retention law until July 2023 from July 2018, but its gradual implementation is possible through bylaws regulating the volume of stored information, business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday.

The bylaws, which will set the order, terms, and volume of information to be stored, should be adopted in 2017, according to the government’s opinion.

The idea to delay the law was put forward earlier by a group of deputies, who said that there is no required equipment, while investment in data storage will exceed 2 trillion rubles. Foreign companies will get profit from the sales of equipment, while local subscribers will be forced to pay through the nose as operators will raise tariffs.

Irina Levova, director for strategic projects at the Internet Development Institute, said the government thinks that connection operators and organizers of information distribution will have enough time to prepare for the law, but by all industry calculations, it will take at least three years to implement all necessary technical and organization measures.

It is still unclear where money to follow the law will come from, Levova said.

The law obliges connection and Internet operators to store content of users’ shared data for up to six months.

(59.2418 rubles – U.S. $1)

End