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A substantial part of the Russia-Ukraine war is being fought in the digital space and it may now take its toll on major online services and platforms. The Russian government has warned Google, Apple, Meta, Twitter, TikTok, and others that they only have till the end of this month to comply with its new landing law. Meanwhile, agencies outside Russia are claiming the law to be just another attempt to increase internet censorship, and are advising tech majors to publicly oppose it.

The new Russian law, first presented in November last year, came into effect on January 1, 2022. It mandates foreign digital entities, including websites and social media platforms, with over 5 lakh daily users, to have a local leader in Russia. It also requires these companies to register as legal entities with Roskomnadzor, the national agency that controls the Russian mass media.

With the landing law, Russia also aims to prevent the practice of big tech firms having a minimal physical presence in the country, while still managing their operations online. It directs the companies to create an electronic form for both Russian citizens and the government authorities so that the companies can be contacted for complaints.

In November, the government had listed a total of 13 companies that must comply with the new landing law. These companies are - Apple, Google, Meta, Twitter, TikTok, Likeme, Pinterest, Viber, Telegram, Discord, Zoom, Spotify, and Twitch. The firms had been given till the end of February 2022 to comply with the law and take the necessary measures. Earlier this month, a Roskomnadzor official reiterated this deadline and warned the companies of penalties and possible shutdowns if these demands were not met.

The companies listed above have responded differently to Russia's demands. Some, like Apple, TikTok, and Spotify, have complied with the landing law. As mentioned by Roskomnadzor, Meta (Facebook's parent firm), and Twitter have only partially complied with the law. Twitch and Telegram have not accepted the terms, The New York Times reports.

On the sidelines, major platforms including Meta and Google have started placing bans on the Russian state media outlets. Blaming them for spreading misinformation around the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Meta banned four Russian state media firms from running ads on its social networks and started independent fact-checking of their content. Google also placed restrictions on these media outlets, limiting their ability to earn revenue from YouTube advertising.

The Russian agency has responded accordingly. Roskomnadzor restricted access to Facebook in the country on Friday, by slowing down traffic. A similar restriction was also reported for Google services and Twitter.

The law is being enforced on the tech majors at a critical time that sees Russian forces storm Ukraine in the attempt of an invasion. While Russia pushes the companies to comply with the landing law, experts from other parts of the world warn that this is just another attempt by the nation to censor the information on the internet.

They argue that a local presence for the companies will make them vulnerable to intimidation by the government in the future. The state may then threaten the companies into complying with future demands through employee arrests, penalties, and restrictions, legal experts warn.

Simultaneously, the growing anti-Russia sentiment is leading to a widespread appeal to tech majors to limit their services in the country. As reported by The New York Times, officials and lawmakers in the US, Ukraine, and other parts of the world have urged the companies not to let their platforms be misused for spreading Kremlin propaganda.

While the big tech has acted against any such misuse of their services, it remains to be seen how well they can protect this integrity of their products and services in Russia and other parts of the world.

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Tech majors in a bind as Russia seeks to tighten internet ...