“With the same success you can equate a news-stall to mass media”, – believe in Russian ministry of communication (MinCom). Mincom does not uphold draft law. “We didn’t see this draft, we did not receive it officially, and we don’t like this idea. We believe, if you carry this to its logical conclusion, with the same success you can equate a news-stall to mass media. We can see covers of newspapers and magazines and can read news headings. Why it is not news aggregator?” – stated Volin. He also mentioned authors of draft law have not consulted with MinCom. Roskomnadzor, subordinate authority to MinCom, is stated in draft law as control authority, but it also has not received draft law and lawmakers have not consulted with it.
Russian company Yandex also is not happy about this draft law. Company believes requirements, containing in draft law, are excessive and inconsistent with actual opportunities of companies owning news aggregators. Company does not have opportunity to verify information disseminated in internet. It is impossible. All news are collected and processed automatically in real-time regime. If the law obliges mass media to verify information, why the lawmaker obliges news aggregators to do the same? Besides definition of news aggregator is too broad. Any resource, collecting and processing information, with one million daily auditory can be considered as news aggregator. If the draft law will be adopted, Yandex can liquidate its news service. Other Russian internet company Mail.Ru can make its news aggregation service as separate business if the draft law will be adopted in its current version. Unlike the Yandex, in Mail.Ru news service with robots also work editors selecting news for top.
“Yandex and Google are top-companies. Their turnover is billions of dollars. Therefore it is not complicated for them to incorporate separate legal entity for work in Russia, and organise redaction there, which will moderate news” – believes one of authors of draft law Ushenko.