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On 29 July 2017 President Vladimir Putin signed into law two sets of amendments to the Federal Statute on information, information technologies and protection of information (the IT Law - see IRIS 2014-3/40 and IRIS 2014-6/31). Federal Statute N 276-FZ, which enters into force on 1 November 2017, grants significant powers to Roskomnadzor, the governmental supervisory authority on media, communications and personal data traffic (see IRIS 2012-8/36), to pursue persons/entities on Russian territory that utilise or provide access to information systems and resources, such as virtual private networks...

On 19 July 2017, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in Khuja (formerly PNM) v Times, on whether an injunction should be granted preventing the media from identifying an individual who had been named in open court during criminal proceedings. Mr Khuja was arrested on the basis of a witness statement that someone with the same commonly used first name as Mr Khuja was involved in sexual offences against children. The witness failed to identify Mr Khuja at an identity parade. Mr Khuja was not charged, although others were. At their trial, evidence was given stating that someone with the same...

On 25 November 2016 the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Interparliamentary Assembly enacted a new version of the 2011 Model Statute on the Basics of Internet Regulation (Модельный закон «Об основах регулирования Интернета» - see IRIS 2011-8/10). It consists of three chapters containing a total of fifteen articles. The Act sets out the principles governing (and determines the main direction of) the regulation of relations concerning the use of the Internet, sets out the procedures for State support of its development, and outlines the rules for determining the place and time of legally...

On 15 June 2017, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on online platforms and the Digital Single Market. This follows the European Commission’s Communication on a Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe in 2015, which included creating a fit for purpose regulatory environment for platforms and intermediaries (see IRIS 2015-6/3). The Resolution begins by welcoming the Commission’s Communication on Online Platforms and the Digital Single Market (see IRIS 2015-10/4 and IRIS 2017-7/7), and by acknowledging that online platforms benefit today’s digital economy and society by increasing the...

On 13 July 2017, Advocate General Bobek delivered an opinion in Bolagsupplysningen OÜ and Ingrid Ilsjan v. Svensk Handel AB (Case C-194/16) concerning jurisdiction in internet defamation proceedings. The case involved a company, Bolagsupplysningen OÜ, which was established in Estonia, but which did most of its business in Sweden. A Swedish trade federation placed the company on a blacklist published on its website, stating that the company "deals in lies and deceit". A forum on the website had over 1,000 comments in response to the blacklisting, with some comments including "calls for acts of violence"...