Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) note that the russian authorities may introduce even stricter measures to control and censor social networks.
Experts point out that the russian government is reportedly considering tougher measures to directly censor critical speech on russian social networks.
Russian propaganda newswire TASS reported on July 19 that an unnamed source said that russian lawmakers are discussing a draft law that would force owners of social media accounts with at least 10,000 followers to hand over personal data to russia's federal agency Roskomnadzor, and block the channel if they don't comply.
According to ISW's preliminary assessment, Roskomnadzor's proposal is part of the kremlin's broader efforts to root out critical opinions and strengthen control over the russian information space.
“Roskomnadzor may have decided that the previous measures that aimed to push critical voices to self-deter out of fear of losing income from advertisements would not have guaranteed the Russian government's ability to directly control the information space as channel administrators that do not rely on income from advertisements would have been able to continue to operate anonymously,” the ISW report says.
However, the new proposals being reported would allow the russian government to directly censor all major critical channels, which would remain anonymous.
Roskomnadzor's proposals may affect decision-making by Telegram administrators.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on July 19 that Telegram will start showing the month and country in which the channel is registered, but noted that this is part of efforts to fight fraud in the app.
“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," ISW stated.
ISW Key Takeaways for July 19:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 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) Defense Secretary John Healey stated on July 19 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.
- Disorganization continues to plague russian efforts to integrate personnel who served in russian proxy forces in occupied Ukraine into the russian military bureaucracy.
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