en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Russian State Duma has passed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses (КоАП) in the second and third readings, imposing fines for violations of rules on the use of recommendation technologies and authorization rules for internet resources. Lawyers told ComNews that these measures may apply to foreign platforms.
A new Article 13.56 has been added to the Code of Administrative Offenses, penalizing owners of resources where recommendation algorithms operate in violation of regulations. Specifically, failure to inform users that these algorithms are in operation constitutes a violation. Citizens may face fines of 10,000 to 20,000 rubles, officials 30,000 to 50,000 rubles, and legal entities 500,000 to 700,000 rubles. For repeat violations, corporate fines could reach up to 1.4 million rubles. Federal Law No. 408-FZ, effective from October 1, 2023, amended the Law on Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection (149-FZ), regulating the operation of recommendation services.
Lawyers stated that the law may also apply to foreign platforms, such as YouTube. Shermet Kurbanov, co-head of the Intellectual Property and Digital Law Practice at SL LEGAL, explained to ComNews that the regulations on the use of recommendation technologies apply to both Russians and foreigners if they are owners of information resources (including YouTube and Google) dealing with Russian users. "If violations occur, companies may be held liable. However, for foreign entities without assets in Russia, enforcing such decisions is questionable—since Russian administrative penalty decisions cannot be enforced in other countries," Shermet Kurbanov explained.
Anna Afinogenova, a lawyer at the intellectual property law firm "Solntsev and Partners," told ComNews that if a foreign company has a legal entity in Russia as the resource owner, it is fully subject to this law. Alexey Golovchenko, managing partner of "ENSO Law Firm," recalled that foreign companies must establish representative offices in Russia—referring to the so-called "landing law." "If a foreign platform has not 'landed,' there are indeed fewer means of pressure," Alexey Golovchenko said. Lawyers noted that to avoid fines, resource owners must publish notifications about the operation of recommendation technologies, disclose their usage rules, and provide contact information for the site owner.
The Code of Administrative Offenses also added a new Article 13.55, penalizing authorization on internet resources through foreign services. For example, online platform owners should prohibit users from authorizing via foreign email accounts or foreign service accounts. Under this article, fines for citizens range from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles, for officials from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles, and for legal entities from 500,000 to 700,000 rubles. A law effective from December 1, 2023 (with a transition period extended to January 1, 2025) stipulates that internet resource owners must allow Russian users access only through specific identity verification methods: via phone numbers, the "Public Services" portal, the Unified Biometric System, and other Russian IT systems.
Anna Afinogenova told ComNews that foreign platforms are not subject to this regulation. The law applies only when three conditions are simultaneously met: the owner is a Russian legal entity or a citizen of the Russian Federation; it conducts business within the Russian Federation (in practice, meaning a Russian-language interface, Russian audience, and settlements in rubles); and the information on its resource is provided only to authorized users. Anna Afinogenova stated that to comply with legal requirements, owners must ensure the technical feasibility of authorization without relying on foreign services, make corresponding amendments to user agreements, notify users who authorized via foreign services that this method will no longer be available, and provide alternatives. She also noted that mobile applications are a separate risk point. "Apple requires that if other social logins are used, 'Sign in with Apple' must be provided (App Store Review Guidelines, Section 4.8). Here, it is recommended to use other authorization methods—not through social logins, such as via phone number or email," the lawyer said.
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