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The Ministry of Digital Development of Russia and the country's mobile operators have been discussing the introduction of unified rules for mobile internet shutdowns. The pro-government publication Izvestia reported the fact of the talks, citing a federal official and a senior telecom executive.
According to the outlet’s sources, orders to shut down mobile networks are currently issued by local authorities, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, or security agencies. As a result, operators often get duplicate or discoordinated requests. One of the interviewees noted that such shutdowns had previously been ordered by Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, and security services — mainly ahead of mass events. However, with the rise in drone attacks, the number of entities authorized to demand internet restrictions has increased significantly.
The idea of centralizing the authority for declaring shutdowns was supported by Karen Kazaryan, director of the Internet Research Institute, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Digital Development and previously took part in drafting the “sovereign Runet” law. According to Kazaryan, a unified shutdown mechanism would “spare users from unnecessary disruptions” and reduce operators' workload. Kazaryan also proposed appointing a specialized directive body and establishing an alert system for telecom providers.
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