Global IT companies operating in Russia will be required to open local offices

A new bill was introduced which imposes new requirements for IT companies of certain criteria to open local offices in Russia.

According to this bill, foreign IT companies with more than 500,000 daily users in Russia will have to:

• Establish local branch offices in Russia
• Open a personal account on the Roskomnadzor website
• Have an online form for feedback available for Russian users

Some of the companies that will be directly affected by this new law are big social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter etc.

An initial warning will be issued to non compliant companies followed by a potential ban form advertising if the warning is not taken into account.

This new law is following the digital services tax trend which aims to help create equal conditions for domestic service providers offering the same services to Russian consumers as the foreign suppliers.

Source: sozd.duma.gov.ru