Russia’s lower house of parliament has given tentative approval to draft legislation to instate measures to isolate itself from the global internet.
The bill is intended to better position the country to fend off potential cyber attacks from abroad, particularly from the US, the legislature has said in a statement.
The concept appears similar to China’s Great Firewall, which regulates internet operations in view of reinforcing national sovereignty.
Russian communications operators would be obligated to provide “capability for central control over [internet] traffic,” according to the draft law’s documentation.
This central control would be under the jurisdiction of Russia’s leadership, the documentation says.
Russian internet providers have reportedly been tasked to come up with a way that the country could reliably shield itself from cyber attacks by April 1.
The task force has been considering whether the country could completely disconnect itself from the global internet, Russian independent news agency RBC reported last week.