Kremlin deepens Russian social networks censorship – ISW

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has noted that the Russian authorities may introduce even harsher measures for controlling and censoring social media.

Source: ISW

Details: The Russian government is reportedly considering harsher measures to directly censor critical voices on social media. 

According to the Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency TASS on 19 July, an anonymous source stated that lawmakers were discussing legislation requiring social media account holders with at least 10,000 subscribers to provide personal identification data to Roskomnadzor, the federal censor. Channels that do not comply would be blocked.

This move is seen as part of a broader Kremlin strategy to eliminate dissenting voices and tighten control over the information space.

Previous measures aimed at pushing critics to self-censor due to fear of losing advertising revenue were not sufficient, as those not dependent on ads could still operate anonymously.

The new proposals would enable the government to directly censor all significant anonymous critical channels. Such measures appear to be influencing Telegram's decision-making. 

In addition, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced on 19 July that Telegram would now display the registration month and country for each channel, ostensibly to combat scammers.

Quote from ISW: "Durov's announcement, however, is notable as he has regularly advertised Telegram as a privacy-oriented, independent, and censored platform since its founding in 2013."

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 19 July:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated the importance of developing an international consensus for pursuing peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán appears to be augmenting several Russian information operations amid continued efforts to present himself as a possible future mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
• New United Kingdom (UK) Defence Secretary John Healey stated on 19 July that Ukraine can use UK-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia, despite previous reports that the UK had not permitted Ukraine to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets within Russia.
• The Kremlin is reportedly concerned about the long-term social and political implications of Russian veterans returning from the war in Ukraine.
• The Russian government is reportedly considering stricter measures to directly censor critical voices on Russian social media.
• Russian authorities continue to propose stricter migration legislation as Russia's ultranationalists continue to espouse xenophobic rhetoric and complain about the Russian government's perceived lenient migration policy.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Siversk, Toretsk and Avdiivka.
• Disorganisation continues to plague Russian efforts to integrate personnel who served in Russian proxy forces in occupied territories of Ukraine into the Russian military bureaucracy.

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