Internet has become powerful political factor - Medvedev
ST. PETERSBURG. June 17 (Interfax) - The Internet is no longer just a communication environment, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
"The Internet has turned from a communication environment, a place where the most modern technologies were used, into a powerful political factor, and those who are ignoring it now do not understand anything in modern life," Medvedev said.
On Friday, the president unexpectedly joined the meeting of a section on Internet economy and took part in a debate on Internet issues.
"If we regard the Internet as a complex phenomenon, if we think about the future, we will find Russia's place in the Internet environment," Medvedev said.
"I believe that Russia should not only be a large energy country supplying energy to the world, but also an organic part of the global digital space. If we for some reason fall out of this digital space, we will have considerable problems," Medvedev said.
Russia is developing "according to a fairly balanced model" in this area, he said.
"Although I periodically have to stop some agencies' attempts to regulate something in such a way as to make it contrary to the purpose of the digital space and the Internet," Medvedev said.
