LinkedIn officially refused to comply with the requirements of the Russian legislation

The professional social network LinkedIn officially refused to comply with the requirements of Roskomnadzor and Russian legislation, according to the official website of the regulator. The publication states:

Roskomnadzor received a letter from Pablo L. Chavez, vice president of international public policy for LinkedIn Corporation. The letter says that the company is not ready to eliminate violations of Russian law. The company refused to comply with the requirement to localize databases with personal data of Russian citizens on the territory of the Russian Federation, thus confirming their disinterest in working on the Russian market.

Technically, the refusal to fulfill the requirements transfers the LinkedIn block to the category of "eternal" and is a demarche against the policy of the Russian authorities and the requirements of the regulatory authorities. LinkedIn social network was blocked by Roskomnadzor in November 2016. Also in the Russian versions of the stores it became impossible to download the social network application . In fact, LinkedIn finally “burned the bridges”: the company preferred to keep its resource locked than to fulfill the requirements of Roskomnadzor and FZ-152.

Recall Roskomnadzor sued LinkedIn social network for failure to comply with the requirements of the Federal Law "On personal data". According to the regulator, the social network worked on the Russian market (there is a Russian version of the site) and illegally collected data on citizens of the country, which were then stored on servers abroad. When considering the case, the Tagansky District Court of Moscow, during the meeting of August 4, 2016, convicted LinkedIn Corporation, finding the US company guilty of violating the law, and demanded that FZ-152 be enforced.

Even a number of factors did not affect the decision of the court. For example, that the defendant did not physically have time to prepare for the process or apply for a transfer of the consideration of the case (notification of the meeting was sent to the United States in Russian and received only on the eve of the meeting). Or that users voluntarily and personally provide information about themselves, and LinkedIn Corporation does not conduct business at all outside the United States. The latter is important, since another law is involved in working with Europe and the Russian Federation. Face of the Social Network - LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company from Dublin. LinkedIn has no official representation in the Russian Federation and, accordingly, according to company representatives, the application of Russian laws to them is impossible. The Russian version of the site opens exclusively "based on the browser settings."
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At the same time, Roskomnadzor had in mind the “personal data” of Russians, including information about IP-addresses, browser and cookies. On the emotional commentary of the company's lawyer, “but these data are not personal!” During the meeting, the representative of the RKN replied that “this is your opinion”.

It must be recalled that according to FZ-152 personal data is any information relating to a directly or indirectly determined or determined individual.

In December, LinkedIn representatives held talks with representatives of Roskomnadzor about unlocking the resource, but no agreement was reached.

“We met with Roskomnadzor in December to discuss the law requirements for localization. Despite our negotiations, we still have not found understanding with Roskomnadzor, which would lead to unlocking of LinkedIn and would allow us to again provide service to users from Russia. This means that LinkedIn will still be blocked in the Russian Federation, ”stated Vice-President of LinkedIn, Eriel Exteen.