MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media is ready to take urging measures against foreign companies, which have not started executing the ‘localization’ law, by the end of February, Deputy Head of the regulator Vadim Subbotin said on Wednesday, adding that measures against those firms would affect advertising activities in the first place.

"Roskomnadzor will start the procedure of taking urging measures in accordance with the law shortly. The issue is first of all about economic measures, meaning the ban on advertisement for the companies that have not started executing the ‘localization’ law. As a reminder, the law stipulates eight urging measures. <…> We will consider the issue of applying measures by the end of this month," he said addressing an extended meeting of the State Duma’s information policy committee focused on the execution of the ‘localization’ law by foreign IT firms on Wednesday.

On July 1, 2021, the bill "On the Activities of Foreign Persons in the Information and Telecommunication Network "Internet" on the Territory of the Russian Federation" was passed. Apart from the requirement to set up a subsidiary or a representative office of a Russian legal entity starting on January 1, the law imposes a number of obligations on foreign entities. In particular, they are to post a feedback form for Russian users on their websites, register a personal account on the website of the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media in order to cooperate with the authorities, install a recommended visitor counter on the information resource (the list of recommended visitor counters has been defined by the watchdog). Foreign entities must also restrict access to information that violates Russia’s legislation.

The Russian telecom and mass media watchdog has published the list of companies obliged to open their representative offices, with Google (Google Play, YouTube, YouTube Music, Google Chat, Gmail), Apple (iCloud, App Store, Apple Music), Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Twitter, TikTok, Telegram, as well as Zoom, Viber, Spotify, Likeme Pte.Ltd. (Likee), Discord, Pinterest and Twitch among them. Apple and Spotify have already opened their representative offices in Russia.