Russia Will Remain Absolutely Open, Will Not Block Internet Access - Peskov

The Russian government has no intention of fencing off internet access and gives its assurances that it will remain absolutely open in this respect, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, highlighting that decisions regarding the availability of certain smartphone applications constitute widely practiced anti-trust measures

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2019) The Russian government has no intention of fencing off internet access and gives its assurances that it will remain absolutely open in this respect, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, highlighting that decisions regarding the availability of certain smartphone applications constitute widely practiced anti-trust measures.

"Russia has not fenced itself off from anyone on the internet, or anywhere else. It is impossible to fence off anything on the internet, and that is neither a task nor an intention of ours. I want to remind you that our president has repeatedly said this. Therefore, Russia remains absolutely open in this regard," Peskov told reporters in response to a question about protecting internet access in Russia.

The Kremlin spokesman added that any decision regarding software products for smartphones was not a question of restricting access.

"This is surely identical to the term 'anti-trust activity,' which is widely practiced around the world, and it is from this angle, from our point of view, that this should be considered," Peskov stressed.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law prohibiting the sale of electronic equipment, such as smartphones and computers, that don't have pre-installed Russian software prescribed by the government.