- Category
- Latest news
Russian Lawmakers Weigh Giving FSB Authority to Shut Down Internet and Phone Services
- Authors
![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Russia’s State Duma is set to consider government-backed amendments to the country’s Law on Communications on January 27, which would significantly expand the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) authority to shut down communications, according to Faridaily.
Under the proposed changes, Federal Security Service would gain the right to demand that telecom operators temporarily suspend not only mobile internet access but also fixed-line internet and telephone communications. The formal justification for such measures is defined as “protecting citizens and the state from security threats.”
Every article pushes back against disinformation. Your support keeps our team in the field.
The amendments were submitted to Russian parliament back in November, and at the time some experts interpreted them as an attempt to legalize the shutdown of mobile internet only. By the end of 2025, Russia had become the global leader in mobile internet shutdowns, with disruptions lasting a total of 37,166 hours and affecting nearly the entire population.
However, the bill now up for consideration goes well beyond regulating mobile internet restrictions. The two-page document introduces two interconnected provisions. First, telecom operators would be required to suspend the provision of any communications services at the request of the FSB.
The specific circumstances under which such “security threats” may arise are to be defined later in a presidential decree and or a government resolution. Second, operators would be exempt from financial liability to customers for service interruptions carried out under these orders.
-4349025dca5f4838bec74d9849568d18.jpg)
Sergey Afanasiev, a partner at the legal firm Innopravо, noted that under current Russian law, “communications services” include both electronic and postal communications. Electronic communications, he explained, cover the transmission and receipt of messages of any kind and by any means—voice, text, images—via radio, wired, optical, or other electromagnetic systems.
The proposed changes come amid broader concerns about Russia’s role in exporting internet censorship technologies abroad. According to a report by Agenstvo Novosti, Russia helped Iran build the technical infrastructure behind what has been described as one of the largest and most sophisticated internet shutdowns in history.
The report says Iran’s system is based on a network-control architecture developed with Russian assistance and centered on deep packet inspection (DPI). This technology allows authorities not only to block websites but also to throttle traffic to specific apps, VPNs, and messaging services, and to selectively restrict platforms used to organize protests.
Russian companies, including Protei, reportedly assisted Iranian mobile operators in integrating DPI into Iran’s message-interception system. According to Foreign Policy, this enabled Iranian security forces to identify protest coordination hubs, track communication patterns in real time, and carry out targeted detentions as demonstrations were developing rather than afterward.
The report also says Russia helped Iran develop a multi-layered system designed to counter attempts to bypass blocks via satellite internet. In particular, the Starlink service can be disrupted using electronic warfare systems similar to those Russia has widely deployed during its war in Ukraine.
The move also follows a year in which Russia led the world in internet censorship and shutdowns. According to The Moscow Times, disruptions in Russia totaled 37,166 hours in 2025 and affected roughly 146 million people.
The figures were based on Top10VPN’s annual report tracking intentional internet restrictions worldwide. By total shutdown time, Russia far outpaced other countries, exceeding Pakistan’s 11,482 hours by more than threefold. Myanmar followed with 9,888 hours, Equatorial Guinea with 8,760 hours, and Iran with 170 hours, while prolonged disruptions were also recorded in Iraq, Albania, Tanzania, and Venezuela.
Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered the government to draft proposals introducing additional restrictions on software originating from what Moscow labels “unfriendly” countries, according to a list of presidential directives published on the Kremlin’s official website.
-f223fd1ef983f71b86a8d8f52216a8b2.jpg)
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
