Russia is introducing a ban on incoming international calls from a number of “unfriendly countries” without the subscriber’s prior consent. Naturally, this is being presented as an initiative aimed at combating phone and internet scams.
In the current list of “unfriendly” countries compiled by the Russian authorities, there are 47 states and territories, including EU countries, the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Ukraine.
The plan is not only to restrict international incoming calls but also to require mandatory labeling of such calls.
In addition to limits on international calls, the government plans to introduce “children’s SIM cards,” which will allow parents to control content without additional requests.
The Kremlin is steadily increasing control over digital services. Over the past two weeks, Roskomnadzor announced the blocking of four popular internet services in Russia – the Roblox game, FaceTime video-calling apps, and the SnapChat and WhatsApp messengers.
Earlier, the State Duma stated the need to block international telephone communications on landlines. The Russian Ministry of Digital Development also began temporarily cutting off mobile internet and SMS for citizens returning from abroad.
