(MENAFN- The Peninsula) President Vladimir Putin yesterday said he would not impose total control over the Internet, despite sweeping government moves to impose surveillance and crack down on dissent.
Russia's moves to tighten security over the Internet have provoked widespread alarm in a country where social media and online news sites are crucial outlets for the political opposition.
The Russian leader, who is a former KGB agent and briefly headed the FSB security service, said he did not want to "limit access to the Internet (or) place it under total control" at a meeting with ministers and security chiefs aired on state television.
"I would like to stress: there will not be any unjustified limitations, let alone total ones. We are not even considering them," Putin was quoted as saying in a transcript on the Kremlin website.
But Russia needs "to develop and carry out a number of extra measures to protect information," he said. "It is necessary to increase the security of Russian communications networks and information resources," he added.
In an apparent reference to the United States, Putin said "certain countries" dominated the Internet and were trying to use this "soft power" to achieve "not just economic but also military and political aims".
Russia has ramped up its anti-Western rhetoric during the conflict in Ukraine and has cited national security to rush through wide-ranging controls on the Internet.
The moves have prompted fears that the Kremlin could entirely cut Russians' access to the rest of the World Wide Web.
Respected business daily Vedomosti said earlier this month that authorities were considering bringing in measures next year to unplug Russia from the rest of the Web in emergency situations, such as major protests or military hostilities.
Sergei Plugotarenko, the head of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications, an industry group, said he viewed Putin's latest comments as positive.
"He said firmly there will not be a single switch to instantly cut off the Russian sector from the global one and that this was unacceptable. That's already good news." But Plugotarenko cautioned that it was essential to wait and see whether Putin's orders to ministers and security agencies matched his words.
Putin's comments prompted scepticism from some Internet users, however.
Putin "said Russia won't limit Internet access but will just block all the sites that seem illegal," wrote a satirical Twitter feed, Dezinformbyuro, reposted by opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Russia's 61-year-old strongman has previously said the Internet is controlled by the United States and called it a "CIA project."
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.