Should anonymity be prohibited in instant messengers? Ban on anonymity: the bill on instant messengers passed the first reading

On the prohibition of anonymity in instant messengers. It obliges message services to identify users by mobile phone numbers (in order to transfer data to the authorities when they ask for it) and to limit the distribution of messages at the request of an “executive authority” (which authority is not specified in the document). Services that refuse to comply with these conditions will be blocked.

Almost all popular messaging services require a number during registration - it is needed for authorization and user protection: to start using the application, you need to enter the code from the SMS that it will send. But no one bothers you to use another person’s number when registering. In addition, in Russia more than 70% of SIM cards are registered to individual entrepreneurs and other legal entities. The subscriber may be known on paper, but it is impossible to determine who actually uses the services. But changes are also expected in this area.

In fact, there are only two ways to block the messenger.

1). When blocking prohibited sites, providers use solutions based on DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) technology. The same hardware and software systems can be configured to block instant messengers.

2). Another way is to block instant messengers by IP addresses using any firewalls that providers have. The disadvantage of this option is that, along with instant messengers, other resources that use the same addresses will be blocked.

You can block any messengers you like, but it is an expensive and thankless task. If such a decision is made, it will only be in the interests of some structures or specific people who want to make money from it.

Will messengers be able to bypass the blocking?

They can. If they really want it. For example, it will be possible to regularly change the interaction protocol so that DPI solutions for identifying messengers are forced to constantly learn new signatures. It will be an endless race.

Another option is to use standard protocols. Then it will be difficult for blockers to distinguish the protocols of instant messengers from the protocols of allowed services.

In addition, messengers can rent address space from global cloud providers - so that the addresses belong not only to them, but also to other companies. But since Russia is 1–2% of the world market, hardly anyone will want to play such a game.

If messengers do not resist, will their users be able to bypass the blocking themselves?

If the messenger is truly convenient and useful, or simply really liked by users, people will most likely find a way. True, this requires a certain level computer literacy, but in Russia it is not very high.

There are paid and free VPN applications for all smartphones and other anonymizers. Another thing is that there are more such solutions for computers than for mobile devices, and they work better.

Can intelligence services already read correspondence in instant messengers?

If the service refuses to provide information, there are no legal ways to read encrypted correspondence. But you can use hacking methods.

Intelligence agencies can easily access the SMS of a person being monitored. In this case, only two-factor authentication can save the messenger from being hacked. It needs to be configured.

You can also infect your phone with malware software or, even simpler, intercept data for web access.

Cover photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images

Georgy Mosalov, Anastasia Rumyantseva, Polina Poletaeva

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved a government decree on the rules for registration in instant messengers. Now services will be required to check user data with operator databases cellular communications. Thus, only the person to whom the phone number is registered will be able to use the application. Experts are confident that such measures will allow the authorities to prevent the commission of illegal actions using anonymous accounts in instant messengers. At the same time, this resolution will not affect the activities of the services themselves and the convenience of their clients, experts are convinced.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the rules for registering users in instant messengers by phone number. The document was published on the legal information portal. It will come into force in 180 days - May 5, 2019.

According to the text of the legal act, the messenger is obliged to confirm data about the user’s number by sending a request to the relevant mobile operator, which must confirm or deny the presence of the user in its databases within 20 minutes after the request.

If the presence of the user in the subscriber databases is confirmed, cellular company is obliged to enter into its database information about the messenger and the unique identification code that was assigned to the user by the application. In this case, already registered users will also need to undergo authorization.

“If information is not received from the operator within the prescribed period... or information is received about the absence of information about the subscriber in the databases, identification is considered failed,” the legislative act emphasizes.

When terminating a contract with a subscriber, the operator is obliged to notify within 24 hours those instant messengers in which the user was registered. After this, the application will have to start the re-identification process.

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Previously, to register in the messenger, it was enough to simply download the application and enter the code sent in an SMS message, reminded the head of Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov. He emphasized that in this case it was possible to register for any number, including someone else’s.

“The possibility of anonymous communication in instant messengers makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes. The current government resolution is a necessary step towards creating a safe communication environment for both citizens and the state as a whole,” Izvestia quotes Zharov.

The head of Roskomnadzor clarified that the owners of instant messengers are subject to administrative liability for violating the new resolution, but did not explain what it would be.

“The state must have leverage”

The state seeks to regulate the use of instant messengers, since with their help “coordination of illegal actions” is often carried out, Alexander Yushchenko, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, noted in a conversation with RT.

“It’s either trade or dissemination of prohibited information. Phenomena such as, for example, extremism, which is also spread in instant messengers, have an extremely negative impact on fragile young minds. The state should have some leverage to influence or prevent this,” he said.

Thus, according to the FSB, in 2017, 25 terrorist attacks were prevented in Russia, while terrorists managed to carry out four attacks. Moreover, all terrorist attacks, according to the department’s statements, were coordinated, including from the territory of Syria.

The new law solves the problem of matching a messenger user with a real person, says Otkritie Broker analyst Timur Nigmatullin.

“If a crime occurs using social networks, for example, someone published illegal information on the VKontakte network, you can formally link the account to a specific person... This cannot yet be done in instant messengers,” he noted in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, the resolution will not significantly affect the activities of messengers, security expert Alexander Vlasov is convinced.

“This will not affect the work of messengers yet, because the same WhatsApp and Viber must first notify themselves that the user must log in only using the number with which he is registered,” Vlasov said in a conversation with RT.

“Nothing will change for users”

Law-abiding users will also not notice changes when using applications, digital economy expert Arseny Shcheltsin is convinced.

“As for users, I don’t think this will affect them in any way. I mean ordinary users who do not go beyond the law, do not distribute illegal content and do not engage in illegal activities by creating extremist pages, groups and dialogues... The main task of the resolution is to preventively analyze the page and determine its connection to a person,” he emphasized in a conversation with RT.

The press service of Megafon also told RT that there will be no changes for users. The company also noted that they are ready to comply with the resolution.

“We are ready to implement the government decree, since it was adopted in pursuance of the law that has entered into force. In fact, it introduces legal relations into existing actual relationships, when instant messenger users are identified by phone number. Nothing will change for users,” added the Megafon press service.

However, this resolution may create some problems for users. RT told about this ex-partner Pavel Durov by social network"VKontakte" Anton Rosenberg.

“No one wants to wait 20 minutes to register. Not all users are, in principle, ready to indicate first and last names, not to mention indicating full names, and judging by the text, if they indicate, for example, Vanya instead of Ivan, registration should be denied,” he said.

Rosenberg also pointed out that law-abiding citizens will be able to circumvent the new rule by registering an account in the messenger with a SIM card from another country.

Let us remind you that the activities of instant messengers are now regulated by amendments to the law “On Information, information technology and on the protection of information”, which came into force on January 1, 2018. The rule of registration using a code in an SMS message, for example, is provided for by this particular legal act.

Messengers are also required to provide users with the opportunity to refuse to receive messages from other subscribers, limit the dissemination of unlawful information, and allow government agencies to send mass messages.

On amendments to the federal law “On information, information technologies and information protection”. This document, in essence, proposes to prohibit anonymity in instant messengers by introducing mandatory user identification by the telecom operator.

Ban on anonymous posts

According to the explanatory note to the document, this bill is intended to regulate the activities of exchange organizers by email, that is, messengers.

“The bill defines the concept of an organizer of instant messaging and imposes on this entity the obligation to ensure the transmission of electronic messages only to those Internet users who are identified in the manner established,” the text of the draft says.

Thus, a user who is not identified according to all the rules will not be able to use the messenger services and exchange messages.

User identification is required to be carried out by telecom operators based on the number mobile phone under an agreement concluded with the organizer of the exchange of electronic messages.

In addition, messengers must provide the user with the technical ability to refuse to receive messages from another user, and also be ready to provide mass mailings at the initiative of government authorities. The bill also separately stipulates the obligation to ensure the confidentiality of transmitted electronic messages.

The organizer of the exchange of electronic messages is obliged to limit the sending and transmission of messages containing information, the dissemination of which is contrary to the laws of the country. As told "Interfax" one of the authors of the project, such information includes, for example, a call to participate in unauthorized street protests.

If the messenger refuses to comply with the requirements of the authorized federal executive body, it may face blocking on the territory Russian Federation. In addition, in parallel, bill on administrative fines for failure to fulfill duties: 3-5 thousand rubles. — for individuals, 30-50 thousand rubles. — for officials and from 800 thousand to 1 million rubles. - for legal entities.

Both laws must come into force on January 1, 2018, by which time organizers of the exchange of electronic messages are required to bring their activities into compliance with the requirements set out in the legal document.

The press service of the Media Communication Union (MKS) told Gazeta.Ru that

The need for a bill on the regulation of instant messengers is caused by the presence of legal relations that are outside the framework of Russian legislation, which includes communication in instant messengers.

There are no tools for users of such services to protect their rights, for example, in the event of receiving threats in instant messengers or mailings to which the user did not subscribe. With the introduction of instant messengers into the legal field, users can finally count on their rights being respected.

The introduced bill is generally based on the expert developments that were proposed by the ISS, and was finalized by deputies taking into account the additions and recommendations of industry regulators.

“De facto, most instant messengers already use the subscriber number to identify the subscriber, and he will not be required to take any additional actions when the law comes into force,” the ISS explained.

The PR director also confirmed to Gazeta.Ru that

Most messengers already ask for a phone number during registration, so the State Duma is essentially “formalizing what already exists.”

“The bottom line is that the country has certain legislation in the field of communications. But the world is changing, new forms of communication are emerging that need to be brought under existing laws,” explained Lidov.

The law will only affect ARI

The law, if adopted, will apply only to those messengers that are in the register of information dissemination organizers (ORI), formed by Roskomnadzor. At the time of publication of the note, there are 81 resources on the ORI list, including services, VKontakte and some others.

The bulk of the list consists exclusively of Russian websites, but in the spring of 2017, the Swiss messenger Threema appeared on it, which supposedly has increased security of personal data thanks to end-to-end encryption.

In early May, Roskomnadzor blocked the famous Chinese messenger WeChat in Russia, adding it to the register of prohibited resources. A few days later, the owners of the messenger provided the data requested by the supervisory authority, and access to it was restored.

The popular messengers Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook Messenger in Russia are not yet included in this register of information dissemination organizers. The representative previously refused to say whether the agency had contacted these companies with a request to provide data for inclusion in the ARI list.

MOSCOW, June 14 – RIA Novosti. The bill on regulating the work of instant messengers passed the first reading in the State Duma. The document prohibiting anonymity in instant messaging services was supported by 356 deputies, two were against it, and one abstained.

A bill providing for amendments to the law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” was introduced into the lower house of parliament at the end of May by deputies from three factions: Marina Mukabenova (" United Russia"), Oleg Nikolaev ("A Just Russia") and Alexander Yushchenko (Communist Party of the Russian Federation).

The document obliges instant messaging organizers to ensure the transmission of messages only to those users who are identified in accordance with the law. To achieve this, the authors of the bill propose assigning to subscribers identification numbers based on agreements that messengers will have to conclude with telecom operators.

In addition, messaging organizers are expected to be required to provide users with the technical ability to refuse to receive messages from other users, as well as to ensure the ability to send messages at the initiative of government agencies.

It should also be possible to restrict the distribution and transmission of messages containing data that violate Russian law. If these requirements are not met, the telecom operator may restrict access to the messenger by decision of the authorized body and on the basis of a court decision.

Subscriber identification

The adoption of the bill completes the cycle of forming a subscriber identification system, said Leonid Levin, head of the information policy committee.

"Since today the volume transmitted information through messengers has already exceeded the volume of information transmitted by traditional telecom operators, and also due to the fact that the owners did not propose any measures to regulate their activities on their own, it was decided to support this bill,” he said, speaking at the plenary session.

“At the same time, messengers remain outside the legal framework. In fact, the legality of the work of the messenger depends on the arbitrary decisions of its owners,” the deputy believes.

At the same time, according to him, some provisions of the bill need adjustments. Thus, by the second reading, the deputies intend, in particular, to clarify the concept of an instant messaging service, as well as to prescribe the obligation of their organizers to do mass mailings at the initiative of government authorities.

He drew attention to the fact that even in the USA there are no use codes WhatsApp messenger. “Because the so-called RSA algorithm is used. This is a mathematical model, so far no one has cracked it. The person who someday cracks this model will receive a Nobel Prize. And we are talking about Roskomnadzor blocking something,” - the deputy believes.

He explained his idea using the example of an apartment building, where everyone uses a telephone connection via Wi-Fi and a huge stream of encrypted communication goes to the IP address. “Roskomndazor will simply have no idea what is encrypted there, it will never determine where the client is identified and where the client is unidentified. The same WhatsApp, which is located somewhere in California, will never be able to understand this... That is, the vulnerability of this algorithm has not yet been discovered, which means it is also impossible to open the codes,” Lugovoi emphasized.

In general, according to the parliamentarian, “this is reminiscent of a war with Pokemon.”