The prospect of a ban on VPNs has prompted Google and Facebook to seek negotiators to interact with the Russian authorities.
According to ComNews, a bill that prohibits the use of technologies and programs circumventing the blocking of site prohibited in Russia has been submitted to the State Duma.
Furthermore, the proposed legislation imposes an obligation on the owners of search engines to stop issuing links to information resources that are blocked in Russia.
It adds that the regulator Roskomnadzor would provide portals with a list of prohibited resources. Failure by portals to block them within 30 days would result in the portals themselves being blocked in Russia.
TelecomDaily reports that the prospect of these and other far-reaching legislative changes has prompted Google and Facebook to look for people who will “interact with politicians in the government and beyond”.
In the case of Google, it would be an employee based in the company’s Moscow office.
Facebook, on the other hand, would seek a specialist in touch with the Russian authorities in Warsaw.
Google and Facebook are among the ten most viewed sites in Russia.