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Putin Plans Ban on Incoming Calls From "Unfriendly" Countries in New Anti-Fraud Drive
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin has announced that his government is working on a ban on incoming telephone calls from countries it classifies as “unfriendly” as part of a new package of measures aimed at combating phone and internet fraud, according to Deutsche Welle on December 10.
Speaking by video link at a meeting of his Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Putin said the authorities are developing “the blocking of calls from the territory of unfriendly states that are made for criminal purposes,” alongside the labeling of calls and tighter rules for officials and financial sector staff when dealing with the public.
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“Within this framework, the blocking of calls made from the territory of unfriendly states with criminal intent, the labeling of calls, and additional requirements regarding the conduct of those working in communication with state bodies towards customers are envisaged. The government takes all these proposals into account and implements them,” he said, referring to recommendations previously submitted by council members.
He added that a first package of measures to protect citizens “in the digital environment” has already taken effect, a second has been drafted and is under discussion, and “in the near plans” is a third set of steps that could include a full prohibition on incoming calls from such states.
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Detailed implementing regulations for the call restrictions have not yet been published, and Vladimir Putin has not specified when any blanket blocking of calls from “unfriendly” countries is expected to begin.
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian government formally prohibited internet-based calls to mobile and landline phones by removing a key license category, presenting the step as a way to limit caller-ID–spoofing fraud while claiming ordinary messaging-app users would not be affected.
