A discussion on the necessity of an autonomous cyberspace emerged in Russiaearlier amid concerns regarding big tech companies in the United States andhow they control the global web space.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that he does not rule outthe possibility of switching off foreign internet services in Russia in theevent of hostile action against the country.
The Russian president outlined that restrictions against foreign internetservices would only be implemented when the country comes up with its ownalternative.
“And when we do have something of our own, we will curtail, if at all, onlytaking a particular situation into consideration […] I don’t want toartificially cut anything off, but when some hostile actions are carriedout, I do not exclude this. Hostile actions with respect to our country areunacceptable,” Putin said during a meeting with Russian media editors.
The president said that there are many domestic tech services in Russia,such as Yandex and Sberbank, that have good prospects.
According to Putin, “our respectable colleagues, when they see that thereis an alternative and they do not have a monopoly in this market, will actdifferently”.
Earlier in February, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman DmitryMedvedev said that it is “possible” to reduce foreign internet traffic incase of “unfriendly” actions towards Russia, but noted that the scenariowas “unlikely”.
“But, frankly, I don’t see any signs of it [cutting Russia off] happening,”Medvedev said at the time.
He also said that Russia has a bill on its internet segment, which, ifenacted, would be able to function autonomously.
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Medvedev outlined a certain political bias present in social media, eventhough they are corporate structures, slamming Twitter’s move topermanently ban former US President Donald Trump from its platform afterthe 6 January Capitol riot.
*Autonomous Cyberspace?*
While many Russian officials have expressed concern with regard to Americanbig tech companies controlling a significant portion of global cyberspace,Medvedev in October 2020 said that the dominance poses certain issues andnoted that Russia “believes that every state should control its cyberspace”.
“It is fair, it corresponds to the basic principles of the internationallaw. Otherwise, internet users and businesses cannot be certain that theirrights are protected properly,” he said.
Concerns regarding the possibility of US tech companies exercisingcensorship and potentially interfering in other countries’ internal affairsprompted discussions on Russia moving to its own autonomous segment of theinternet, reducing its reliance on global internet traffic.
It is noted that there are many potential threats and problems inconnection with Russia’s suggested step away from the global network, whichcould disrupt the stability of the internet.
However, according to Russian officials, there is a plan for the situation,and the country’s life support systems are protected and would be able tofunction whether or not Russia is connected to global network.
