Support The Moscow Times!

Internet Privacy Bill Gets Initial Approval in Russian Assembly

The bill seeks to emulate European Union rules on the "right to be forgotten", under which search engines must take down certain results that appear under a search of a person's name. Yevgeny Razumny / Vedomosti

Russian parliament gave initial approval on Tuesday to a law that would require Internet search sites to remove outdated or irrelevant personal information from search results on request from users.

The bill, passed by the State Duma lower house in its first reading, seeks to emulate European Union rules on the "right to be forgotten", under which search engines must take down certain results that appear under a search of a person's name.

The regulation has sparked a debate over censorship issues because Web firms have to make judgment calls on individual cases, balancing rights to personal privacy against the freedom of information.

Yandex , Russia's biggest search engine, has said it does not want to have to decide whether information is unreliable and fears the law will be misused as users would not have to provide a court order, evidence or justification.

"The limitations introduced by this bill reflect an imbalance between private and public interests. This bill impedes people's access to important and reliable information, or makes it impossible to obtain such information," the company said.

Unlike the EU legislation, the Russian bill would force search engines to erase information about a person even if it is in the public interest. Failure to comply could result in a fine.

Google in Russia declined comment.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more