On January 27, the State Duma passed in the first reading a bill that would require telecom operators to suspend any communication services at the request of the FSB. This includes both internet access and telephony. The measure was backed by 379 deputies; there were no votes against or abstentions, while members of the New People party did not vote. According to Agenstvo, debate on the bill lasted 13 minutes.
Under the draft law, shutdowns could be imposed in the event of “threats to the security of citizens and the state.” The specific situations in which this would apply are to be defined later by a presidential decree or a government resolution. The bill would also exempt operators from financial liability to subscribers for such shutdowns.
Reports about the initiative first emerged in November 2025. At the time, experts told Vedomosti that operators had no direct legal duty to disconnect users at the request of state agencies, even though such requests had been coming from various authorities since spring 2025, creating confusion.
The bill was presented in the Duma by Deputy Digital Development Minister Ivan Lebedev, who served in the FSB from 2001 to 2005. He said the draft intentionally does not specify which data transmission services may be cut off, so that “enemies” do not fully understand how the mechanism works. According to him, follow-up regulations will spell out what should be disconnected, when, and to what extent, and those documents will be classified.
In comments to Novaya-Europe, journalist Andrey Zakharov said the bill changes little in practice and mainly gives legal form to shutdowns that have long already been used in Russia.
Zakharov noted that mobile internet had been cut off before, and fixed-line internet, though less often, had also been shut down, including during Roskomnadzor exercises on isolating the Russian internet. In his view, the new rules may chiefly make life easier for operators by reducing the risk of lawsuits and turning informal orders into formally established powers within the system.