Russia is set to grant the FSB total control over communications shutdowns and ban citizens from suing for outages
Russia’s parliament is moving to formally expand the Federal Security Service’s authority to shut down communications services across the country — while shielding telecom companies from any legal responsibility for the fallout. Meduza explains what’s new in the bill and how broadly these powers could be applied.
Russia’s State Duma has approved the first reading of a bill that would significantly expand the government’s power to shut down communications networks — and shield telecom providers from any legal consequences for doing so.
The proposed legislation introduces two amendments to Russia’s law “On Communications.” One would give the Federal Security Service (FSB) the right to demand that telecom operators suspend communications services “in order to protect citizens and the state from emerging security threats.” The other would explicitly relieve operators of liability for such shutdowns — even if they violate contracts with customers.
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What exactly counts as a “security threat” is left deliberately vague. The bill doesn’t define the term, nor does it task the FSB with doing so. Instead, it leaves those decisions to the president and the federal government.
The amendment spells this out directly, authorizing telecom operators to suspend services at the FSB’s request “in cases established by normative legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, aimed at protecting citizens and the state from emerging security threats.”
The bill’s explanatory note frames the measure as a tool for “countering terrorism,” among other things. During parliamentary debate, Deputy Minister of Digital Development Ivan Lebedev said that expanding the FSB’s authority to shut down Internet access was necessary to counter Ukrainian drones. In other words, Russian lawmakers are seeking to formalize a practice that is already in use.
The FSB already has the power to suspend communications, but only under specific circumstances. Under Russia’s law “On Countering Terrorism,” the security services are allowed to impose temporary restrictions at their discretion once a “counterterrorism operation” has been declared. These include suspending communications services for both individuals and organizations, or limiting the use of communications networks and devices.
Since August 2024, a “counterterrorism regime” has been in force in Russia’s Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions. During Yevgeny Prigozhin’s brief mutiny in the summer of 2023, the same regime was imposed in Moscow for several days.
Separately, the provision of the law “On Communications” that lawmakers are moving to amend already allows the FSB to seek the suspension of services for a specific subscriber — for example, if someone is using a SIM card registered to another person. That rule has been on the books since 2016.
What remains unclear is how broadly the new powers will be applied. The wording of the bill would allow authorities to suspend virtually any type of communications service, including wired, mobile, or satellite Internet access, phone calls, and text messages.
As noted earlier, telecom operators would face no legal consequences for carrying out shutdowns — a liability shield that fits a broader pattern. In 2019, Russia’s “sovereign Internet” law similarly protected telecom operators from liability for disruptions caused by state-installed deep packet inspection (DPI) systems. Under that legislation, providers are not liable for licensing violations if the problems stemmed from the operation of government tools intended to counter so-called “threats.”
The concern that citizens might seek legal recourse isn’t unfounded. On November 12, 2025, media outlets in Volgograd reported what appears to be the first lawsuit of its kind: a local resident sued the telecom provider Beeline, seeking compensation for what he described as inadequate service under his contract.
Two days later, on November 14, the Russian government submitted its bill absolving operators of responsibility for shutdowns. The initiative itself, however, had been announced earlier — on November 10, before the lawsuit.
