Russia will tighten liability for personal data leaks

United Russia has submitted bills to the State Duma to toughen penalties for personal data leaks. Corresponding amendments will be made to the Criminal and Administrative Codes. It is proposed to introduce new elements of administrative offenses and significantly increase fines and terms of imprisonment under criminal articles. This was announced by First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Andrey Turchak on his Telegram channel.

Andrey Turchak noted that the amendments were made by order of the President. Responsibility will grow with the volume of leaked information and depending on the number of citizens whose rights are violated. The fines for officials will range from 800 thousand to 2 million rubles, and for legal entities, they will be 3-15 million. For a repeated violation, an organization can already pay hundreds of millions of rubles (depending on the company’s revenue). Criminal liability is provided for professional cybercriminals and ordinary company employees who decide to make money by leaking information.

Punishment in the form of imprisonment of up to 8 years is provided for those who export the data of Russian citizens abroad for their sale or transfer. If the leak caused harm to the life and health of citizens, as well as public safety, or we are talking about organized crime, then this is already 10 years in prison. A separate type of criminal liability is for those who do business using stolen data. Such violators face up to 5 years and a heavy fine. According to Andrey Turchak, improving legislation will significantly change the situation with personal data leaks.

Previously, Bashinform News Agency reported on compensation for victims of personal data leaks.

Author: Roman Yakimchuk