On January 1 of this year, a law on banning software called anonymous messengers came into force in Russia. Of course, the step is absolutely unprecedented. The adoption of such a law provoked a clearly contradictory reaction from numerous users of this type of software. Why such a decision was made, what are such programs, what are their capabilities and why are such applications unacceptable to the country's leadership, further it is proposed to understand.
What are anonymous messengers?
To begin with, it’s worthwhile to understand the essence of this software. Why are real-time instant messaging apps called anonymous? Yes, just because they do not require the identification of the user, taking into account his real personal data.
Anonymous messengers, after the ban is passed, will be required to register users by phone number, which, in turn, is tied to full information about its owner. But after all, if you look, you can call anonymous and a popular messenger, which is used to send messages to the social network Facebook. At the moment, after all, registration, although it involves entering a mobile phone number, is only done with the confirmation of the email address. Thus, and this software, in theory, should fall under the jurisdiction of the law.
On the other hand, many well-known programs for Android and iOS operating systems like Snapchat, Ping, Telegram and others will really be tied to mobile numbers. But is it that simple?
Why are anonymous messengers prohibited in Russia?
It is believed that the law should contribute to enhancing security. The first reason that the ban was introduced is the fact that quite often in this type of program you can find all kinds of terrorists and terrorist groups. After all, how does the program work?
Messages in it may not be saved, but deleted immediately after reading. For example, in Telegram, you can configure the so-called secret chat or set a timer for the destruction of correspondence. Thus, it is simply not possible to track the communication of malefactors among themselves. And this leads to the fact that the same terrorist acts cannot be prevented in advance. In this regard, the ban on anonymous instant messengers in Russia does not raise questions.
On the other hand, many have probably noticed that in communication applications you can often find a huge amount of spam and annoying advertising in the form of constant mailings. There are no questions either. However, if an entrepreneur tries to advertise his product or services by sending out informative messages, then why not? It seems that there is nothing reprehensible in this.
How technically possible to establish a ban?
But let's see if it is possible to introduce a complete ban on anonymous instant messengers of any type. The problem is not so much impossible as it is costly. If you look at the prohibitions of Russian resources in the same Ukraine, even the blocking of services, search engines and social networks at the level of providers did not lead to anything. Users simply bypass the blocking using VPN clients.
According to experts, the implementation of a powerful firewall at the state level may require about two billion dollars, but there is no such money. And this is only Ukraine. But in Russia the population is many times greater.
This is China and North Korea spared no funds for such sanctions. In these countries, even VPN technology does not help. IT specialists have learned how to filter objectionable traffic in such a way that nothing helps at all, and access to many world resources is completely blocked, not to mention the anonymous messengers in question. So Russia will need too many financial injections to carry out such a task.
Mandatory conditions for using instant messengers and ways to circumvent the law
But there is a flip side to the coin. By and large, the ban on anonymous messengers only applies to software that is officially registered in Russia. All other programs are not subject to the law.
The explanatory note to the bill gave a very vague wording, which indicated that its action was aimed solely at ensuring that Internet users receive reliable information and are protected from all kinds of fraud, prohibited or inappropriate content.
As for the terms of use of such programs, on the one hand, each developer of such a product is obliged to make the registration mandatory on the mobile phone number, on the other hand, the user must confirm the registration on the mobile number.
But at the moment, despite the prohibition of anonymous messengers in Russia, circumventing the law can be quite simple. It's no secret that in almost any big city you can easily buy a “left” SIM card, to which user data is not tied. It is also simple to buy a SIM card in another country (in the same Ukraine, for example), where you do not need to specify personal data when connecting. In Ukraine, passport data will be required only if the card is replaced or restored. But the government has not yet figured out how to deal with such phenomena.
Penalties for unauthorized use of instant messengers
After a ban on anonymous messengers came in Russia, the question immediately arose of punishment for violating the law. In particular, this applies to administrative fines, which are imposed on absolutely all users, whether an individual or a legal entity.
For ordinary citizens, a fine of 3-5 thousand rubles is provided, for civil servants and officials - 30-50 thousand, for legal entities - from 800 thousand to one million. At the same time, private entrepreneurs can be fined a million, since they fall into the category of legal entities. Anonymous use of instant messengers, as already understood, is punishable, but with their official use, the subscriber number, as provided by law, should be stored exclusively in the Russian Federation.
What remains unclear is only the issue of downloading applications. Well, Google Play will not be banned, where many programs of this type are available in the public domain?
Fines will also be imposed on developers, especially if the requirement to limit the transmission of messages at the request of government agencies (Roskomnadzor) is not complied with if a transfer of illegal information is detected.
The legal side of the ban
In terms of international law, such an innovation can be argued. No matter how Russia tries to remain a democratic state, the adoption of this law clearly resembles China and North Korea. There is still a problem in that all kinds of security structures are trying to take control of all users of such programs.
And this does not hold water, since, roughly speaking, one can forget about personal correspondence. And in case of suspicion of the transfer of unlawful information, just a fine will not get off.
But what about privacy?
Finally, many users rightly ask privacy questions. It turns out that law enforcement agencies will have full access to correspondence?
Although it is argued that information will not be shared with third parties under any circumstances, it looks very doubtful.
What is the result?
So it turns out that the anonymous messengers in Russia are becoming even not so much disadvantageous as unsafe, because you can easily be on the hook of special services. Penalties are not the worst thing that can be, but if you are interested in, say, the FSB, then you can be in a very difficult situation.