Russia bans foreign online ID verification systems

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a package of laws further regulating the country’s online sphere, including a ban on user registrations with foreign e-mail addresses or ID services by Gmail or Apple in favor of domestic digital ID players.

The move has caused an uproar in the Russian IT industry which says that the regulation will affect verification for online financial services. And local digital rights activists see it as another step towards isolating the Russian internet.

People wanting to register on Russian platforms have limited digital ID options. They can use the government services platform, Gosuslugi, and the government’s Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA), which is connected to the federal remote biometric identification platform Unified Biometric System. They can also register using a domestic phone number or use Russia-based internet service firms such as Yandex.

“We believe that the ID of Russian users should be tied to a Russian phone number, e-mail in .ru and .rf domains, Gosuslugi or biometrics,” Anton Gorelkin, deputy of the State Duma’s Information Policy Committee and author of the amendment, told local media last week.

Gorelkin claimed the move will prevent data leaks and thefts. The changes are effective December 1 as part of amendments to two federal laws regulating online information. It will affect only sites that require registration and authentication and will not be retroactive.

Critics, however, say that none of the four authorization methods provide a convenient experience for users of online financial services without meaningful risk reduction. The move to the ESIA system could also strain its infrastructure as it will have to handle millions of authorization requests daily, including accessing internet banking and online wallets.

“And failures in this infrastructure will actually mean the inability to access remote service channels, which will have an extremely negative impact on confidence in the financial sector,” Victor Dostov, president of the Russian E-Money and Remittance Association told Forbes’ Russian-language service.

According to its proponents, the ESIA platform coupled with biometric identification could turn into a digital ID service that can be used in the financial industry for remote client verification while Gosuslugi could provide data on Russian citizens in real-time. In the future, ESIA could also be used for opening online wallets for the digital ruble which started trials this August.

The Russian government has been making significant investments in Gosuslugi and ESIA, signing a 2.2 billion rubles ($23.5 million) contract with state telecommunications giant Rostelecom for their development in March and an additional 600 million rubles ($6.4 million) contract in April.

Vietnam has similarly moved to restrict online freedom with identity verification.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  Russia