Russia has passed legislation which functionally adopts many of the worst — and largely discredited — surveillance provisions that Europe adopted in the past and is now abandoning. Specifically, Russian telecoms will be required to retain data traffic information for 6 months, as well as assist government agencies decrypt information. The law will also (further) penalize those who support terrorist activities or engage in other types of social disturbances: the problem is that such accusations are increasingly used to target those disliked by the government as opposed to those whom are actually supporting terrorism or the destruction of Russian society.
It will be particularly interesting to see what, if any, effect the EU has on Russia’s new law. Will the law, which flagrantly violates human rights, inhibit Russia’s ability to trade with EU member nations or will the infringement be ignored? Or will the EU be so consumed by the Brexit that it cannot — or will not — turn its attention to one of its largest trading partners?
Excited Pixels 