State Duma mulls legislation to make Russian software & apps mandatory on mobile devices
by RT
State Duma mulls legislation to make Russian software & apps mandatory on mobile devices
Phone manufacturers and sellers could be compelled to have Russian-made software pre-installed on devices if a contentious bill – passed at first reading by MPs – is signed into law.
The legislation, which the State Duma gave the first nod to on Tuesday, stipulates that any smartphone, computer or smart TV sold in Russia must run on Russian applications by default. Such software, it claims, is friendlier and more attractive for Russian users than Western versions.
The proposed law also imposes hefty fines on sellers or manufacturers who fail to comply. The government will have to define which devices and software will be covered by the bill which the lawmakers say will “protect interests of Russian internet companies” and help overcome “foul play by large foreign IT corporations.”
“When you buy an Android or iOS-powered smartphone, you see apps designed by those companies but not the Russian ones,” Oleg Nikolaev, a Fair Russia MP and one of the bill’s authors, explained to RT. “Now, the legislation says there must be icons of apps designed domestically.”
Alexander Yushchenko from the Communist Party added that foreign corporations may be willing to abide by the new rules because they can’t afford to lose the Russian market. To become law, the bill has to pass through the upper house and then be signed by the president.
It’s not the first time such a proposal has been in the spotlight. Earlier this year, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service floated the idea of having Russian apps – a search engine, a navigator and a messenger – added to foreign-made devices.
The measure was rebuked by Apple, Samsung, and Huawei which actively lobbied against it. Russian internet giants such as Yandex, Mail.ru, and VKontakte were in favor of it.
