Duma looking into ways to make Big Tech comply with Russian laws, says deputy speaker
The lawmaker stated the parliament’s lower house was ready to talk directly with tech giants
MOSCOW, April 28. / TASS /. Lawmakers in Russia’s State Duma together with the government are working on measures obligating foreign IT companies to comply with the country’s legislation, Deputy Speaker of the lower house Pyotr Tolstoy told TASS on Wednesday, mentioning the economic impact and slowdown in traffic.
"We are working jointly with the government, consulting with [our] colleagues in the Presidential Administration. We are eyeing measures that would be appropriate to take," Tolstoy stated.
He noted that it also involved some "economic measures related to advertising, slowing down traffic and so on for those companies that do not comply with Russian laws." "We believe that, just like in the US, IT companies in Russia will comply with the requirements made by legislators," the senior lawmaker emphasized.
Meanwhile, Tolstoy stated that the parliament’s lower house "was ready to talk directly with tech giants so that the rules established in Russia became the content of their work." "We are having such a talk," he assured.
In early February, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, during a board meeting of the State Duma Council, instructed Tolstoy and the heads of relevant committees to hammer out measures ensuring that foreign tech companies complied with Russian laws.