Head of Roskomnadzor Vows to Keep Cracking Down on the Russian Internet
After a long period of silence during the intense “carpet bombing” of IP addresses, Alexander Zharov, the head of Roskomnadzor, has finally started making public comments—and they offer little cause for optimism. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Forum, Zharov broke his nearly month-long silence with several statements that surprised the internet community with their pretentiousness and apparent disconnect from reality.
In particular, Zharov gave a rather optimistic assessment of his agency’s actions during the “carpet bombing of IP addresses,” which, as a reminder, disrupted the functioning of the Russian internet (Runet). There was no admission that the chosen method of “chasing Telegram” was a mistake—on the contrary, Zharov considers Roskomnadzor’s actions justified.
The head of Roskomnadzor claims that the “degradation” of the Telegram messenger “ranges from 15% to 35–40% on various smartphones within a day.” According to Zharov, the outflow of ads and users has reached 25%. However, the company M13, which created the “Katyusha” information-analytical system used by the presidential administration to monitor social networks and the internet, previously reported that it had not observed any “degradation” of Telegram.
According to Telegram Analytics, a month after Roskomnadzor began blocking Telegram by order of the Tagansky District Court of Moscow, the losses in popularity for Telegram were disproportionately small compared to the agency’s efforts, which caused significant disruptions to Runet. Actual user activity in Russia dropped by only about 2%.
Major Internet Companies and the Blocking of Telegram
Zharov also stated that major internet companies have stopped helping Telegram bypass the blocks. “Our dialogue continues. Microsoft has stopped allowing Telegram to use the Microsoft Download service configuration file, and Google has informed us that it has currently suspended providing IP addresses to Telegram. So the process is ongoing,” Zharov said. It’s worth noting that Zharov has a habit of making such statements, which do not always reflect reality—he often repeats claims that his agency is “in dialogue” with various companies, which are supposedly about to move servers to Russia, build data centers, or agree to ban Telegram, etc.
According to Zharov, blocking Telegram is “the first experience of blocking not a website, but an application,” and that “this is a process,” as is “interaction with international companies.” He claims Roskomnadzor is in “constant contact” with them.
Encryption Keys and Accusations Against Telegram
The topic of Telegram, created by Pavel Durov, has been a central theme in Zharov’s speeches for the second day in a row. Today, he justified the demand for Telegram to provide encryption keys for user messages. He called the messenger’s philosophy “absolutely piratical,” claiming it contains a lot of illegal and extremist content. He added that there is irrefutable evidence, but did not specify what it is or the time period involved.
“All recent terrorist acts, both in our country and abroad, were coordinated through Telegram. So, if I have to choose between comfort and security, I personally choose security,” said Zharov. However, neither Zharov nor his agency guarantee the security of internet resources—in fact, their actions have contributed to widespread disruptions affecting hundreds or even thousands of websites, causing reputational and financial losses for their owners and inconveniencing millions of Russian citizens, who have suddenly found themselves thrown back to a pre-digital era where messengers, online maps, ticketing services, cash registers, encyclopedias, educational resources, and other essential services no longer work.
Accusations of Piracy and Impact on VKontakte
According to Zharov, Telegram founder Pavel Durov is acting like a pirate. He also considers all attempts to bypass the messenger’s blocking to be piratical. Zharov claims that Telegram is hiding behind a “human shield” of legitimate internet resources that share the same IP addresses:
“Unfortunately, at the moment, the application, thanks to its programmers, is hiding behind a human shield made up of transnational companies and legitimate resources that share the same IP addresses.”
Zharov also accused VKontakte of piracy: “Unfortunately, the philosophy of the creators of Telegram, like that of VKontakte, is absolutely piratical.” However, he added that the situation with VKontakte improved after steps were taken to legalize music and video under the control of MailRu Group.
Anti-Piracy Efforts and Market Growth
Discussing the fight against piracy, Zharov claims it has contributed to the growth of the legal online video market. He cited data from TMT Consulting, according to which the Russian online cinema market grew by 60% in 2017, reaching 7.7 billion rubles, with the paying audience increasing by 30% to 2.6 million users.
Over the past year (April 2017 – April 2018), Roskomnadzor received more than 1,600 rulings from the Moscow City Court regarding about 4,000 internet resources violating intellectual property rights. As a result, access to 380 sites was restricted, and pirated content was removed from the rest. More than 900 pirate internet resources are blocked on a permanent basis.
Zharov noted that the cross-border nature of intellectual property violations in the digital environment requires close international cooperation between rights holders, internet companies, and regulators. At the same time, Roskomnadzor “considers its priority to be the support and development of Russian markets.”
Attempts to Block Telegram in App Stores
The agency is still trying to block Telegram in app stores, a move first attempted at the start of the “carpet bombing.” “Roskomnadzor is in talks with Google and Apple lawyers about removing or restricting access to the Telegram app in their online stores,” Zharov said. According to him, Roskomnadzor’s lawyers and the companies interpret the court’s decision differently, particularly the third point, which states that Roskomnadzor and other legal entities must restrict access to the app. Zharov clarified that Google and Apple do not want to recognize themselves as “other entities.”
“They want a direct order addressed to the companies,” Zharov explained.
Facebook, Fake News, and New Legislation
Zharov also returned to a favorite topic—promising to check Facebook for compliance with Russian laws (specifically, Federal Law 242 on storing Russian citizens’ personal data in Russia). However, he said that blocking the social network is not currently under consideration.
“Depending on the results of the inspection, we may fine them or obtain legally binding documents stating when they intend to comply with Russian laws. This process will begin at the end of this year,” Zharov said.
The head of Roskomnadzor noted that the spread of false information on social networks is a “painful issue.” “False information is literally a scourge. There must be responsibility for fake news, but what kind is up for discussion. Most often, such information spreads on social networks with encrypted traffic,” he said. He also noted that it is impossible to block a single Facebook account; due to the network’s architecture, blocking one account would block the entire social network. “Therefore, we need to discuss other forms of punishment—possibly financial,” Zharov added.
In April, the State Duma passed a bill in its first reading introducing fines of up to 50 million rubles for refusing to remove false and defamatory information from social networks. The bill also equates social networks with “information dissemination organizers” (ORIs) and provides for serious sanctions if not complied with. The document imposes several obligations on social network owners, such as establishing a representative office in Russia, removing false information as described in the bill upon request, complying with restrictions during elections or referendums, and installing a user-counting program specified by Roskomnadzor.
Legal Challenges and Public Backlash
As can be seen, Alexander Zharov is not planning to apologize for his agency’s clumsy actions, even though Roskomnadzor’s conduct shows not just inevitable mistakes but clear overreach and violations of Russian law. Internet ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev has stated that the Prosecutor General’s Office should investigate the legality of Roskomnadzor’s actions. A businessman affected by the “IP bombing” has filed a 5 million ruble lawsuit against Roskomnadzor, which the court has so far left without movement until June 7. The human rights organization Agora has also announced plans to file several lawsuits, and RosKomSvoboda has called on businesses and ordinary users to file complaints with the relevant authorities. Both RosKomSvoboda and Agora are challenging the very blocking of Telegram, with Agora having filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which was registered less than two weeks ago.