Major tech companies like Apple must open offices in Russia by January 2022, the country's lawmakers have decided, likely to be able to control what is said and how it is said.
Members of the Russian parliament passed legislation requiring foreign companies to establish a local branch or open a Russian legal entity. The companies affected are those that serve more than half a million daily users in the country through their website, which would include Apple and most social networks and search engines.
Although the legislation has passed through the lower house of parliament, it has yet to be approved by the upper house and signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law. Reuters reports that it should pass the upper house unscathed and be signed by Putin with no questions raised.
The authors of the bill say that it is necessary to create a local branch, otherwise the foreign websites will be outside the jurisdiction of Russia.
Websites and organizations that disagree with the legislation and do not establish a local office will face punitive measures, such as being designated as 'non-compliant' in search engines, removed completely from search results, or not being able to advertise in the country.
The legislation is the latest attempt by the Russian government to assert its position on online issues and the tech industry.
