Amid crackdown on internet giants Google, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/twitter-is-working-on-a-three-tier-labelling-mechanism-to-fight-misinformation-heres-how-itll-work-388770">Twitter </a>and Facebook, the Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would ensure foreign internet companies to set up local offices in the country or face penalties and even a possible ban.

Watch:

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President Vladimir Putin had earlier said that internet companies should "obey not just the laws of formal, legal rules, but also the moral laws of the society".

The Russian leader had said that, "These are not just economic giants. In some areas they are already de facto competing with the state."

The latest regulation passed by Russia's lower house involves&nbsp;those companies which have&nbsp;over 500,000 users with stringent punishment including a ban on payments and blocking of services.

Russia’s internet regulator recently had recently demanded the foreign internet companies to remove content it found illegal or face fines.&nbsp;

The government had earlier asked Facebook and Twitter to store all data on its citizens within the country by July 1.&nbsp;

Google was earlier fined $82,000 after the US-based company did not meet the government's demand to delete content it considered illegal which included posts on opposition leader Alexei Navalny's arrest.

The Russian regulator had also clamped down on Twitter over tweets allegedly connected with child pornography and drug use. The internet company was fined $259,000.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Amid crackdown on internet giants Google, Twitter and Facebook, the Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would ensure foreign internet companies to set up local offices in the country or face penalties and even a possible ban.

Amid crackdown on internet giants Google, Twitter and Facebook, the Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would ensure foreign internet companies to set up local offices in the country or face penalties and even a possible ban. Watch: President Vladimir Putin had earlier said that internet companies should "obey not just the laws of formal, legal rules, but also the moral laws of the society". The Russian leader had said that, "These are not just economic giants. In some areas they are already de facto competing with the state." The latest regulation passed by Russia's lower house involves those companies which have over 500,000 users with stringent punishment including a ban on payments and blocking of services. Russia’s internet regulator recently had recently demanded the foreign internet companies to remove content it found illegal or face fines. The government had earlier asked Facebook and Twitter to store all data on its citizens within the country by July 1. Google was earlier fined $82,000 after the US-based company did not meet the government's demand to delete content it considered illegal which included posts on opposition leader Alexei Navalny's arrest. The Russian regulator had also clamped down on Twitter over tweets allegedly connected with child pornography and drug use. The internet company was fined $259,000. (With inputs from Agencies)

Russian lawmakers pass bill to make foreign web giants open local offices or face ban

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed into law a "sovereign internet" bill which will allow <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-president-vladimir-putin-says-russia-cracking-down-on-foreign-spies-201617">Russian authorities to isolate</a> the country's internet, a move decried by rights groups.

Russian lawmakers insist the new law is necessary to ensure the security of<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-putins-warning-russian-tv-lists-nuclear-targets-including-pentagon-in-us-199658"> Russia's online networks</a> but critics say the vaguely worded bill gives new censorship powers to government monitors.

The text of the law was published on Wednesday but it will not come into effect until November.

The measures include creating technology to monitor internet routing and to steer Russian internet traffic away from foreign servers, ostensibly to prevent a foreign country from shutting it down.

The authors of the initiative say Russia must ensure the security of its networks after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new American cybersecurity strategy last year that said Russia had carried out cyber attacks with impunity.

Thousands of people recently rallied in Russia against this and other bills that critics say aim to restrict information and communication online.

Separately, Putin in March signed controversial laws that allow courts to fine and briefly jail people for showing disrespect towards authorities, and block media for publishing "fake news".

Last week 10 international rights organisations called on Russia to scrap the internet bill.

"The bill created a system that gives the authorities the capacity to block access to parts of the Internet in Russia," said a statement backed by Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders and others.

The blocking would be "extrajudicial and non-transparent," the statement said. Under the new law Russian Internet access providers will also need to ensure that their networks have the technical means for "centralised traffic control" to counter potential threats.

This control will pass notably to the Russian FSB security service and the telecoms and media monitoring agency Roskomnadzor, which is often accused of arbitrarily blocking content on the web.

In recent years Russian authorities have blocked online sites and content linked to the opposition, as well as internet services which fail to cooperate with them, including the Dailymotion video platform, the Linkedin online social networking site and the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed into law a "sovereign internet" bill which will allow Russian authorities to isolate the country's internet, a move decried by rights groups.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed into law a "sovereign internet" bill which will allow Russian authorities to isolate the country's internet, a move decried by rights groups. Russian lawmakers insist the new law is necessary to ensure the security of Russia's online networks but critics say the vaguely worded bill gives new censorship powers to government monitors. The text of the law was published on Wednesday but it will not come into effect until November. The measures include creating technology to monitor internet routing and to steer Russian internet traffic away from foreign servers, ostensibly to prevent a foreign country from shutting it down. The authors of the initiative say Russia must ensure the security of its networks after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new American cybersecurity strategy last year that said Russia had carried out cyber attacks with impunity. Thousands of people recently rallied in Russia against this and other bills that critics say aim to restrict information and communication online. Separately, Putin in March signed controversial laws that allow courts to fine and briefly jail people for showing disrespect towards authorities, and block media for publishing "fake news". Last week 10 international rights organisations called on Russia to scrap the internet bill. "The bill created a system that gives the authorities the capacity to block access to parts of the Internet in Russia," said a statement backed by Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders and others. The blocking would be "extrajudicial and non-transparent," the statement said. Under the new law Russian Internet access providers will also need to ensure that their networks have the technical means for "centralised traffic control" to counter potential threats. This control will pass notably to the Russian FSB security service and the telecoms and media monitoring agency Roskomnadzor, which is often accused of arbitrarily blocking content on the web. In recent years Russian authorities have blocked online sites and content linked to the opposition, as well as internet services which fail to cooperate with them, including the Dailymotion video platform, the Linkedin online social networking site and the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

Putin signs bill to steer Russian net traffic away from foreign servers

WION Dispatch: Russian lawmakers plan to reduce dependence on foreign internet