Russian President Putin Signs Law for Independent Russian Internet. Russian President Putin has approved a bill that makes an “independent Russian internet” mandatory. Russia does not want to depend on other countries for the functioning of the internet.
Although the law has now been signed, the technology to disconnect the country from the rest of the world is not yet ready.
A test of the autonomous “Runet”, as the Russian internet will be called, has yet to take place, but no date has been set for that. All internet providers in the country participate.
Russian senators already voted for the bill last month. The call for an independent Russian internet would, in addition to the desire for autonomy, also come from the felt need to defend the country; there is an absolute fear that foreign powers can cut off Russia from the rest of the internet.
All internet traffic of the Runet must go through Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal telecom authority. Critics fear that the measure is a disguised plan to make censorship on the internet easier for the Russian authorities.
The country has been trying to block various websites and services for some time, which is not always possible. Just over half of the Russians would be against the law.
The bill, therefore, led to violent protests. Thousands of Russians took to the streets in Moscow, described the Reuters news agency.