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Accessing Internet in Russia by passport violates rights, says Kremlin

Earlier, the proposal to discuss introduction of mandatory passport registration to obtain Internet access was sent to leadership of both chambers in the Russian parliament

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov believes that the proposal to introduce mandatory passport registration to access the Internet would entail violation of citizens’ rights, he said on Tuesday commenting on the initiative put forward by Rakhman Yansukov, president of the Russian Avanti Association of Entrepreneurs for the Development of Patriotic Business.

"Of course it will be [censorship], of course it violates [rights]," Peskov responded to a corresponding question.

Earlier, the proposal to discuss introduction of mandatory passport registration to obtain Internet access was sent to leadership of both chambers in the Russian parliament. Yansukov’s initiative stipulates that any citizen wishing to use the Internet in Russia would be required to provide an e-version of a document to prove his identity, while underage citizens would only be able to register under documents of their parents or legal representatives.

Deputy chairperson of the Russian State Duma (lower chamber) Committee on Information Policy, Technologies and Communications Andrei Svintsov told TASS that such a proposal is relevant and announced that he was ready to discuss this issue in the lower chamber, but pointed out that "it is important to learn what Russians themselves think.".