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Fighting with piracy by white listing and little bit more for today…

How to fight piracy in internet? The question is rhetorical. Many countries develop and implement in their national law systems different mechanisms aiming to reduce illegal distruction of illicit articles or content. But Russian experts have much better idea – white listing of web-resources. It is some kind of idea to make internet like closed club with entrance fee. If you want you web-site online – licence it not for content, but for declaration that it is legal.

It could be very profitable business model. Filing lawsuits is not effective for one simple reason – the Russian law system does not provide certain mechanisms popular in developed countries. For example, the Russian lawmakers claimed they develop and implememt DMCA-like law. But de-facto the new law has nothing in common with DMCA or alike law at all. The Russian law can only forbid and punish, it can’t regulate. At least the last five years the internet regulation aiming to control, to clear out the undesired content.

The right holders have signed antipiracy memo with Russian IT majors. The lawmakers claimed they are working on new law with almost all principles from antipiracy memo. The memo implies blocking any web-site if it contains the content without proper permission from right holder. So the antipiracy memo and current Russian law imply formation of so called black lists. The new idea supposes white lists, when the owner or operator of web-site listed in such white list can be out of any suspicions regarding the copyright infringement.

The communication operators want shift liability for handling of personal data

The new law on indepence of Russian internet or the law on creation of Russian internet implies mandatory installation of certain equipment in the networks of communication operators. The last formally bear responsibility for proper handling of subscribers’ personal data. The equipment is to be installed by the third parties, which would have access to subscribers’ personal data. The operators believe such third parties could have access to personal data handled by operators.

Therefore operators don’t want formally bear the liability for improper handling of subscribers’ personal data. The operators’ logic is very simple – if such third parties could have access to subscribers’ personal data they should bear responsibility for handling of such data if they would do so. Under the operators’ logic it is necessary to forbid by the special legal instrument to use the personal data by the companies who install equipment in operators’ network under the Russian current law.

Penalties for improper handling of personal data

The Russian president has signed the law providing fines for improper keeping of personal data in Russia. If the operator fails to migrate its database with personal data of Russians to Russia it faces huge penalties. For natural person the fine is up to 50 thousands Roubles, for legal entity the fine is up to 6 mln Roubles. For repeated failure the fine is for natural person up to 100 thousands Roubles and for legal entity is up to 18 mln Roubles.

The communication operator must also notify the relevant federal authority of implementation or installation of any new program or mechanism for receiving, storing or processing of personal data. If the operator fails to do that it can face the fine, for natural person it is up to 10 thousands Roubles and for legal entity it is up to 1 mln Roubles.

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