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

On 19 June 2024, the Bill expediting process for blocking mirror sites (Bill 537002-8) was adopted by the Federal Council. The Bill amends the Federal Law on Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection to transfer the powers to block access to "mirrors" from the Ministry of Digital Development to the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor). The "mirrors" refer to copies of pirate sites that have already been blocked. The Bill aims to optimise the blocking process, reducing the procedure for restricting access to two days. Furthermore, the Bill extends the obligation to remove “mirror” pages from search results to all search engine operators, not just those distributing advertising in the Russian segment of the Internet.