US Lifts Sanctions on Information Exchange Equipment and Software
The US Department of the Treasury has removed telecommunications and internet equipment from the list of sanctions previously imposed on Russia. However, the ban on withdrawing funds from the accounts of the Russian Central Bank, National Wealth Fund, and Ministry of Finance in the US remains in effect.
According to a press release from the Treasury, “The export or re-export, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by US persons, wherever located, to Russia of services, software, equipment, or technology related to internet communication is permitted. This includes instant messaging, sharing photos, movies, and documents, videoconferencing, chats and email, social networks, web browsing, blogging, web hosting, and domain name registration services.”
The document clarifies that opening or maintaining correspondent or transaction accounts “for or on behalf of” sanctioned Russian financial institutions is still prohibited.
The US began imposing sanctions on Russia after the start of the so-called “military special operation” by the Russian army in Ukraine. Among other things, the restrictions affected the supply of American technology for the defense, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries. Sanctions also impacted the export of semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, and sensors.
Several major IT companies, including Microsoft, Intel, and Qualcomm, have left the Russian market. In March, the Russian government ordered all state websites and services to switch to the Russian domain name system and abandon foreign hosting providers to protect resources from potential external shutdowns.
It is worth noting that in early March, the organization “Roskomsvoboda” appealed to foreign companies, asking them not to cut Russians off from the global internet by blocking payments for internet services, mass-disabling Russian user accounts, or restricting access to software updates. Such actions, they argued, would only strengthen domestic censorship and limit Russians to information from official sources. In their view, these measures harm all progressive forces advocating for peace and good neighborliness, as well as those who oppose Russia’s self-isolation from the outside world. Digital rights are an integral part of the fundamental human rights and freedoms recognized in international law.
“What does all this mean?” commented Mikhail Klimarev, Executive Director of the Internet Protection Society. “It means that for a whole month, we were doing the right thing and achieved results. This is political activity as it should be: someone (in this case, the Internet Protection Society, along with many NGOs, politicians, and private individuals) promotes an idea and explains its value. Then the idea is either accepted or debated.”
Sarkis Darbinyan, Managing Partner of Digital Rights Center and lead lawyer for Roskomsvoboda, believes that this US decision was partly the result of a petition they created to lift sanctions that cut Russian citizens off from the internet and deprive them of access to truthful information about current events. More than 40 non-governmental organizations joined the petition. “At the very least, this will slow down further disconnection of Russians from platforms and may even allow some companies, which were afraid of being punished for violating sanctions, to return to us.”
“Our idea was simple and straightforward: by cutting off the internet and imposing sanctions on it, you are closing the only channel to truthful information for Russian residents,” Klimarev explained. “Shutdowns are Putin’s weapon. The weapon of democracy is truth and openness. We simply called on the Free World not to play into Putin’s hands. And yes, this now means a consensus on the development of the internet in Russia: it will be possible to import equipment, all kinds of consumer electronics, software, and internet solutions without needing special licenses from the US Treasury.”
In any case, the Digital Rights Center notes that such measures are welcome, and at the very least, this means that there is no immediate “external” threat to the Russian internet (Runet): “As for ‘internal’ threats, that’s another story. But the DRC team will always remain vigilant in protecting your web interests.”