Government approved ban on instant messengers’ anonymous use

UFA, 6 November 2018. /Bashinform News Agency, Galina Bakhshieva/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. The Russian Government approved the rules for identifying users of instant messengers by phone number. The corresponding resolution was published today on the Official Internet portal of legal information.

According to the document, services will be available only to those on whom the phone number is registered. New rules will take effect in 180 days.

As reported by Bashinform News Agency, the administrators of instant messengers will check whether the user's phone number is actually registered to the user’s name. The mobile operator is given 20 minutes for a response.

In addition, mobile operators will be obliged to enter the information about the applications in which their clients communicated into their databases. The messengers will transfer the information to the cellular companies.

Those who already use applications will not be identified if the information of an operator and a service coincides. When changing the data, the user is obliged to re-authenticate.

Meanwhile, experts are skeptical about the initiative, RIA Novosti reports. Thus, the director of the Association of Professional Users of Social Networks and Messengers, Vladimir Zykov, believes that foreigners may face problems with SIM-cards of their countries. The illegal sale of SIM-cards of foreign operators may also begin.