Roskomnadzor will calculate the number of users of foreign Internet resources

The number of visitors will be determined "by counting users' one-time visits to each of the information resources of a foreign entity during the day." Also, the number of Internet users will be determined on the basis of information provided by foreign companies at the request of Roskomnadzor.

If it is impossible to determine the number of users of information resources in the Federal Service, it is proposed to use publicly available data from the Internet and information obtained as a result of information processing using a special program designed to determine the number of users.

In Russia, from January 1, 2022, a law will come into force obliging the owners of foreign information resources to create branches, open representative offices or establish Russian legal entities, which are to fully represent the interests of the companies and be the main channel of interaction with Russian regulators.

This refers to resources, the daily Russian audience of which is more than 500 thousand people for at least three months. Now about twenty foreign information resources are subject to the requirement of the law, including social networks Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube video hosting, Google search engine, WhatsApp messenger.

“It is possible that this list may be wider - new companies may be included in it when we receive objective data on the visits of their resources,” said Anton Gorelkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Technologies and Communications.