Russian Federation

[RU] Law on the International Exchange of Information

IRIS 1997-8:1/3

Andrei Richter

Comenius University (Bratislava)

The Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Participation in International Exchange of Information" is the basic Statute that regulates issues of international exchange of information, including mass information. The Statute aims at providing conditions for an effective participation and strong positions of Russia in the area of transnational flow of information. It lists the responsibilities of the government: to provide customers with information, update and protect informational resources (data banks, archives, etc.), introduce modern technologies, and facilitate the exchange of information over the national borders (Article 4).

Export of documented (fixed in some material and identifiable form) mass information from the Russian Federation shall not be limited (Article 7). The Act provides to a number of governmental institutions specific rights to control different aspects of international exchange of information with an overall supervision of the process by the Committee on Informatisation Policy at the President of the Russian Federation (Articles 15 and 16). The Statute introduces a licensing requirement for activities in the sphere of international exchange of information in all cases that exportation of State informational resources from Russia and when the State pays for the information imported into Russia to supply national data banks (Article 18).