Russia's Strict Censorship Laws
Internet censorship in Russia has been increasing in recent years, and the country was rated "not free" by
Freedom on the Net for the past several years in a row. Often referred to as the "Red Web," Russia's system of filtering the Internet draws many parallels to
China's Great Firewall. Russia's Yarovaya's laws include provisions for data retention for periods of up to 3 years, as well as mandates companies have "keys" to encrypted communications that can be provided to authorities when requested. Some newer legislation may also grant the governemnt full power over the Internet, with access to domain names, cables and exchange points, offering unprecedented Internet control within the country. Russia censors the Internet in the traditional fashion, blocking popular social networking sites including LinkedInand the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat as well as sites or pages that may share views they do not agree with (political dissent, extremism, illegal content). Some social media users and political activists have been targets of cyberattacks, jail time and other negative results as a result of their online activity.