Putin signs law on fines for failure by IT giants to comply with grounding law

MOSCOW. July 14 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on turnover-based fines for failure by foreign IT giants to abide by the so-called grounding law.

The law is published on the official website for legal information.

An explanatory note to the law says that the failure of IT giants to open an account on the website of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), to publish a feedback form on their website, and to open a branch or a legal entity in Russia will be punishable with an administrative fine of 1/15 to 1/10 of company revenue but no less than 6 million rubles.

A repeat violation will be penalized with a fine of 1/10 to 1/5 of company revenue but no less than 10 million rubles, the bill said.

The amount of revenue-based fines will apply to company revenue generated in Russia, it said. Fines will be based on the revenue generated over the previous calendar year or a part of the calendar year, in which the offense was committed, prior to the offense date if the company did not sell goods, work or services last year.

If a foreign information resource has a private owner, such person will be subject to fines of 200,000 to 400,000 rubles, and a repeat violation will be punishable with a fine of 300,000 to 500,000 rubles. Fines on officials may range from 400,000 to 800,000 rubles, and a repeat offense will be punishable with a fine of 500,000 to 1 million rubles.

The law also increases liability for repeated failure by a communications operator to fulfil the obligation to restrict or resume access to prohibited information within a year, which is punishable by a fine in an amount from 30,000 rubles to 250,000 rubles for officials and from 500,000 rubles to 4 million rubles for legal entities.

Technical devices

The law introduces a fine for violations by a communications operator of the procedure governing installation, operation and modernization in communication networks of technical devices for countering threats to stable, secure and full operation of the Internet in Russia. The fine will be from 30,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles for officials, from 50,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles for private entrepreneurs, and from 500,000 rubles to one million rubles for legal entities. Repeat violations will be punishable by a fine in an amount of 100,000 rubles to 200,000 rubles for officials, 200,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles for private entrepreneurs, and 3 million rubles to 5 million rubles for legal entities.

In addition, the document introduces from January 1, 2023 liability for communications operators for violations of the requirements for traffic passage through technical devices for countering threats to stable, secure and full operation of the Internet in Russia and public communication networks. The fine will be from 30,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles for officials, from 50,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles for private entrepreneurs, and from 500,000 rubles to one million rubles for legal entities. Repeat violations will be punishable by a fine in an amount of 100,000 rubles to 200,000 rubles for officials, 200,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles for private entrepreneurs, and 3 million rubles to 5 million rubles for legal entities.

Advertising

The document introduces fines for search engine operators, hosting providers, advertisers and advertisement disseminators for failure to fulfil decisions made by Russia's telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor on foreign companies failing to fulfil the requirements of the grounding law.

In particular, dissemination of advertisements prohibited by Roskomnadzor of a foreign legal entity, a foreign organization that is not a legal entity, a foreign citizen or a stateless person operating on the Internet on the territory of Russia is punishable by a fine in an amount of 20,000 rubles to 80,000 rubles for citizens, 80,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles for officials, and 50,000 rubles to 3 million rubles for legal entities.

If these actions are committed by a foreign individual or entity, the fine will be from 30,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles for citizens, from 100,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles for officials and from 3 million rubles to six million rubles for legal entities.

Dissemination of advertisements prohibited by Roskomnadzor on a resource of a foreign legal entity, a foreign organization that is not a legal entity, a foreign citizen or a stateless person will be punishable by a fine in an amount of 20,000 rubles to 80,000 rubles for citizens, 80,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles for officials, and 500,000 rubles to 3 million rubles for legal entities.

The same actions committed by a foreign legal entity or a foreign organization that is not a legal entity, a foreign citizen or a stateless person will be punishable by a fine in an amount of 30,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles for citizens, 100,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles for officials, and three million rubles to 6million rubles for legal entities.

A foreign company's or foreigner's failure to comply with Roskomnadzor's ban on the collection of Russians' personal data will be punishable by a fine in an amount of 30,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles for citizens, 100,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles for officials, and 1.5 million rubles to 6 million rubles for legal entities.