According to the explanatory note, the purpose of the Draft Law is the comprehensive improvement of measures aimed at countering crimes committed using information and communications technologies.
In our previous reviews dedicated to this legislative initiative, we analyzed the proposed amendments to the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" and the Federal Law "On Personal Data". In this new review, we examine the amendments introduced to the Federal Law "On Communications" (the Communications Law).
Key amendments proposed to the Communications Law:
Users are prohibited from altering the identification numbers of mobile devices linked to their telephone numbers;
Telecommunications operators are required to block telephone numbers that are not part of the Russian numbering system and to notify subscribers of calls received from such numbers;
Subscribers are prohibited from transferring their SIM cards or any other information required to access communication services to third parties;
The Draft Law introduces new articles regulating the provision of communication services using virtual telephone exchanges (virtual PBXs) and the provision of mobile radiotelephone services to persons using subscriber traffic-passing terminals;
Mobile radiotelephone services using subscriber traffic-passing terminals that allow simultaneous use of more than four SIM cards may be provided only to legal entities or individual entrepreneurs;
Individuals may receive mobile radiotelephone services using subscriber traffic-passing terminals only if they have an employment agreement or a remunerated civil-law contract with the subscriber of such services;
An individual may independently impose (and subsequently lift) a ban on entering into communication services agreements via the Government Services Portal in the form of an electronic document signed with a simple electronic signature;
When a SIM card is transferred to a minor, the subscriber must notify the operator, who must then transmit this information to the Federal Service for supervision of communications, information technology, and mass media (Roskomnadzor);
The Draft Law introduces a system of measures aimed at protecting individual subscribers from calls originating from numbers showing indicators of unlawful use. For example, when adopting measures to prevent and suppress crimes committed using communication networks and communication facilities, the operator must transmit information on such numbers to the State Information System for Countering Offences Committed Using ICT;
Telecommunications operators must provide individual subscribers with information regarding organizations from which calls were made. However, operators may decline to provide information regarding calls made by state authorities or by subscriber numbers included on lists supplied to the operator;
A telecommunications operator must terminate communication services upon receiving a request from operative-search bodies or Roskomnadzor if, within 15 days, the personal data of actual users cannot be verified against the information stated in subscriber agreements;
A telecommunications operator must terminate communication services if the identification number of the mobile device is prohibited in Russia, does not comply with Russian law, or is being used with a subscriber number that does not correspond to the governing subscriber agreement;
The list of data that operators must transmit to the State Information System for Countering ICT Offences has been expanded. It now includes data on subscribers aged 14 to 18, as well as subscriber numbers transferred by parents to minors;
When interacting with the State Information System for Countering ICT Offences for the purpose of entering subscriber numbers into the unified register of numbers showing indicators of unlawful use, operators must transmit:
-information on subscriber numbers used for calls or messages displaying indicators of unlawful conduct;
-information on subscriber numbers receiving such calls or messages;
-information on changes to user equipment;
-information on the replacement of a subscriber’s SIM card or eSIM;
-information on the location of user equipment;
Upon Roskomnadzor’s instruction, an operator must suspend communication services and/or traffic-passing services for 24 hours (unless otherwise prescribed by law) for subscriber numbers used for unlawful activities and included in the unified register;
A new article (Article 53.2 of the Communications Law) has been introduced requiring operators to create a database of user equipment identifiers and to exchange identifier information with the central database of user equipment identifiers;
A new article (Article 65.3 of the Communications Law) has been introduced requiring Roskomnadzor to collect, store, and maintain information regarding the country attribution of network addresses;
If an operator fails to comply with a Roskomnadzor instruction to suspend services for 24 hours for a number used for unlawful activities, and this failure results in theft of funds from a subscriber’s personal account, the operator must compensate the subscriber for the stolen funds.
Most amendments are expected to enter into legal force on September 1, 2026, with certain amendments taking effect on March 1, 2027 and January 1, 2028.