Russian Email Addresses May Become Mandatory for Registration on Russian Websites
On July 25, 2023, the State Duma approved in the second reading amendments to the Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” and the Federal Law “On Communications.” As a result, starting December 1, 2023, registering on Russian websites using foreign email services may be prohibited.
The original bill was introduced to the State Duma back in 2018 and was passed in the first reading, but it had not progressed since then. On July 20, 2023, Anton Gorelkin, a State Duma deputy from the “United Russia” party, prepared amendments for the second reading, which took place on July 25, 2023.
Initially, the bill required news aggregator owners to have more than 50% Russian control in their management structure. The updated version of the bill adds new requirements for the registration process on Russian websites.
Key Registration Requirements
According to the text of the bill, registering on Russian websites using foreign email services may be banned. Alexander Khinshtein, head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, explained that the amendments concern the registration process for internet users on websites that offer registration. The bill provides four legal ways to register:
- By using a phone number from a Russian mobile operator,
- Through the unified government services portal “Gosuslugi” (ESIA),
- Through the Unified Biometric System (EBS),
- Using another information system that authorizes users and is owned by a Russian citizen without dual citizenship or a Russian legal entity with less than 50% foreign ownership.
In his Telegram channel, Anton Gorelkin linked the initiative to “ensuring a higher level of personal data security.” Alexander Khinshtein clarified that “other information systems” refer to Russian services, such as VKontakte or Mail.ru email. He added that it will not be possible to register using email addresses from foreign services.
According to Gorelkin, this initiative has already been discussed with businesses. He specified that the amendments are aimed at limiting “the use of foreign systems for authorizing Russian users on information resources owned by Russian citizens and organizations.” He added, “Authorization by email is allowed, but it must be a Russian email address.”
Sanctions and Scope
The current version of the bill does not specify penalties for website owners who do not provide the registration methods listed above. “There are indeed no measures of responsibility outlined yet; this will happen later, after evaluating law enforcement practices,” said Gorelkin.
The bill does not clarify whether the registration restrictions will apply only to sites in the news aggregator registry (such as VKontakte, Rambler News, and Dzen) or also to sites in the registry of information dissemination organizers (ORI, which includes social networks and messengers).
Retroactive Effect and Existing Users
Alexander Khinshtein explained to the media that the law does not have retroactive effect. “Those who registered earlier will retain their access. This rule applies only to internet resources that require user registration. For example, access to Yandex does not require registration,” Khinshtein said, noting that this also applies to “Gosuslugi.”