Russia not to isolate Internet despite protection measures: PM

MOSCOW, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Russia has no plans to isolate the Internet but must prepare for a possible disconnection from the global network, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.

Last month, the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, passed in the first reading a bill on the protection of the Russian segment of the Internet from cyber threats.

It has to pass two more readings in the State Duma and then be endorsed by the upper parliament house before being signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.

"We have to protect our interests. It is not that we want to disconnect something, but we do not want to be disconnected," Medvedev said in a live broadcast of a QA session on VK, a Russian major social network.

"The Internet is not just a news story but a huge amount of technology. It is an industrial Internet, a medical Internet. What happens if at some point we find ourselves cut off from the rest of the world?" he said.

For many Russian social network users, the bill qualifies as one aimed at isolating the Russian Internet.

The bill provides for the creation of a national system for Internet traffic routing in order to ensure the reliable operation of the Russian part of the global network in case of infrastructure failures outside of Russia or of targeted large-scale external influence.

According to an explanatory note, the bill was created in response to the "aggressive nature" of the U.S. National Cyber Strategy adopted in September 2018.

Medvedev said that the absolute majority of the tools regulating the Internet are located in the United States, while Russia's relations with that country are not perfect.

"It just happens that the technology that has become universal and is used by billions is still largely regulated by one country. It is not very good," Medvedev said. Therefore, the bill is aimed at providing stability to the Russian segment of the Internet, he said.

In the future, the Internet could be regulated by international conventions, which would be ideal, but so far that is not happening, Medvedev said.