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Is Russia building its own version of China's Great Firewall?

Russia’s new cyber law brings it closer to China’s so-called internet sovereignty

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Is Russia building its own version of China's Great Firewall?
This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Russia is planning to cut off its internet from the rest of the world.

Well, OK, it’s just a temporary test. And once it’s over, Russia’s internet is supposed to emerge more resilient to outside aggression.

But critics argue that it’s about censorship inside the country instead -- a move that brings parallels with China’s Great Firewall.

The official reason for the test is to ensure that, in case of “foreign aggression”, Russia’s internet can operate even while cut off from the rest of the world.

To do this, Russia is considering a new law which would enable the country's telecom watchdog, Roskomnadzor, to control internet traffic going through routing points.

But it’s not just that: The new law suggests internet service providers will have to install so-called “technical means” that stop access to banned information, not only by blacklisting certain web addresses, but also by prohibiting the flow of data through these routing points.
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