Controlling free expression “by infrastructure” in the Russian Internet: The consequences of RuNet sovereignization

Abstract

Russia has been coaxing foreign Internet companies into building the Yarovaya-Law infrastructure, by listing them as “information disseminators”. This infrastructure, aimed at storing content data collected by information disseminators, might develop into a state-controlled content layer for the sovereign Russian Internet, presenting a new digital lock to curb free expression. However, by the summer of 2020, the building of the Yarovaya-Law infrastructure had faltered due to cost and implementation obstacles; this may now have hindered the continuation of the RuNet sovereignization strategy.