State Duma approved the law on information

On July 8, the State Duma adopted in the final third reading the law “On Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information”. As the correspondent of “Rosbalt” reports, the document was supported by 409 deputies, opposed 2.

This law determines the procedure for collecting, transmitting, producing and distributing information in the Russian Federation, using information and telecommunication networks, establishes liability for violations in the field of information technologies and communications. New concepts are introduced (“information holder”, “information technology”, “information system operator”, etc.) providing an unambiguous interpretation of legislative norms. The owner of the information is assigned exclusive rights to determine access to information resources and their use.

Information classification according to accessibility criteria and distribution methods is introduced (Article 4). The “presumption of openness of information on the activities of state bodies and local self-government bodies” is fixed: citizens will be able to get access to such information free of charge and without explanation of the reasons. Internet and hosting providers as well as data center operators are not responsible for the distribution and storage of prohibited information by their customers.