A member of the upper house of parliament has accused Google of having a user agreement that breaks the law and violates people's privacy rights as protected by the Russian Constitution.
"We are talking about the personal data that people provide when they sign the user agreement with Google," said Ruslan Gattarov, the head of the information policy committee of the Federation Council, Interfax reported Wednesday.
"The agreement is composed in such a way that a person cannot explicate his personal information afterwards, and Google can later transfer the data to third parties," he said.
Gattarov also said the company's policy not only violated local laws and the Constitution but also went against the European Data Protection Directive.
The lawmaker proposed that the Federation Council together with the authorities regulating the communications sector persuade Google to edit its user agreement so that it complied with legislation.
"Our colleagues in the United Kingdom, France and Germany did the same, and we are set to introduce a bill at the next hearings that start in autumn that will better protect our citizens and their personal data," the senator said.
The senators had invited Google representatives to attend a meeting of the information policy committee dedicated to personal data security that was scheduled for June 19 but no one from the company showed up, according to Interfax.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
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 every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
