Russia: Introduced Bill expediting process for blocking mirror sites (Bill 537002-8)

On 25 January 2024, the Bill amending the Federal Law On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection to establish the transfer of powers to block access to "mirrors" from the Ministry of Digital Development to Roskomnadzor (RKN) was introduced to the Russian State Duma. The "mirrors" refer to copies of already blocked pirate sites. The bill aims to optimise the blocking process, reducing the procedure for restricting access to two days. The bill also proposes to extend the obligation to remove 'mirrors' from search results to all search engine operators, not just those distributing advertising in the Russian segment of the Internet.