JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian internet giant Yandex takes rare stand against state snooping” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir
“The primacy of Russia’s security state is beginning to crimp the global growth of the country’s information technology sector. That could foretell hard choices for the government over what it will prioritize.”
“Russia has always been some version of a national security state, in which individuals, companies, and other group interests are expected to unquestioningly submit to the needs and demands of state agencies. So, most experts say they were surprised it was even reported publicly … that the … FSB … demanded … digital services giant Yandex, Russia’s largest company, hand over its encryption keys to comply with the country’s increasingly tough internet laws. As surprising, if not more so … Yandex seemed to resist the FSB’s demands – with the backing of some government officials. … [F]ault lines were laid bare between traditional security demands and the hopes of at least some state officials that Russia’s most important global company should not be hobbled by credibility-wrecking collaboration with secret services. …”