Russian rights advocates under Putin expressed concerns about the government’s use of digital technology for population surveillance and control.
The concept is referred to as a cyber gulag, drawing parallels to the former Soviet labor camps that detained political prisoners.
Russian Government’s Digital Propaganda Enabled
This notion has been criticized by various groups, including Roskomsvoboda, a Russian organization advocating for internet freedom, which has been labeled a foreign agent by the Kremlin.
Sarkis Darbinyan, the head of legal practice at Roskomsvoboda, stated that the Russian government’s utilization of digital technology has been advantageous for them, enabling activities such as state propaganda, surveillance of individuals, and the identification of internet users.
Prior to the widespread protests that took place across Russia in 2011, which were organized online through social media, the Russian government displayed indifference towards monitoring its citizens through digital technology means.
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Legislation Following Ukraine Invasion
However, in 2014, stricter laws were introduced targeting social media users and online speech, primarily originating from the Russian platform VKontakte (VK), which the government forcefully acquired from its original owner, Pavel Durov.
Subsequently, the Kremlin made efforts to regulate internet usage, encompassing website blocking, compulsory storage of phone calls and messages, and exerting pressure on tech giants like Google, Apple, and Facebook to store user data on Russian servers.
Russia’s endeavors to suppress cyber activities gradually gained momentum until the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after which online censorship and prosecution for dissenting voices on social media escalated significantly.
According to Net Freedoms, an organization focused on internet rights, Russian authorities blocked or removed over 600,000 web pages in 2022, marking the highest annual total in 15 years. Additionally, 779 individuals faced criminal charges for online content critical of the Russian government.
These unprecedented statistics, according to Damir Gainutdinov, the leader of Net Freedoms, are attributed to a recently enacted law that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This legislation criminalizes expressions of anti-war sentiment, including the dissemination of false information or the undermining of the credibility of the Russian armed forces.
Gainutdinov emphasized that users of any social media platform should not feel secure in light of these developments.
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