MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. Any hostile information resource can be effectively blocked in Russia but this step is unnecessary at the moment, Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Committee on Informational Policy, Technologies and Communications, told TASS.
"You must remember that when our [telecom] watchdog tried to block Telegram, it wasn’t quite successful but this experience has been taken into account and certain technical changes have been made, which now make it possible to effectively block any hostile resource," the lawmaker pointed out.
When speaking about the IT companies that left Russia, Gorelkin did not rule out that they would return once Moscow’s special military operation was over. "We developed and passed a law obliging foreign platforms to open offices in Russia. In fact, many of them planned to do so before the special military operation had begun; but after it was launched, they refused to follow through because of pressure from their governments. However, once the special military operation is over, I am sure that they will do it," he noted.
"The companies have formally left Russia but these resources continue to operate one way or another. At this point, we see no reason to further block resources," the lawmaker said.
Still, Gorelkin emphasized that companies were able to gain some freedom after leaving Russia, being able to incorporate technical means for the illegal collection of data into mobile devices through operating system updates.
"It was one thing when we had Apple and Google offices here, but we don’t have them now. There are no offices here anymore and it’s much easier for them to use a wide range of tools in the information war, introducing tools for surveillance and the illegal collection of various data through operating system updates. I am sure that this is where things stand," Gorelkin said.