Russia’s hosting providers have appealed to internet ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev for help in building constructive dialogue with the authorities during the All-Russia Hosting Providers and Registrars Forum, which was held in the Leningrad Region from May 28 to 30. The HostObzor project, which for 13 years has organized events that bring together providers from Russia and other countries, has contributed to the initiative. An open letter was also published on HostObzor’s behalf calling for other hosting providers to join.
“It is of great importance to convey to those responsible for drafting and passing laws the viewpoints of all members of this industry. Hosting business is high-tech, it requires a careful and prudent approach, it is imperative to listen to what people working in this business have to say. For this reason, I truly hope the initiative will find backing, and that dialogue with the authorities will from now on be truly two-way,” Sergei Kopylov, head of the law department at the Coordination Centre for TLD RU, said.
Providers believe that working jointly with the ombudsman may help resolve a number of urgent issues. For one thing, it may help eliminate the legal uncertainty surrounding the provision of web services and arising from the unclear licensing procedures in the communications industry. Another issue is the lack of meaningful actions that providers can take if websites they host are blocked due to recent Russian laws.
Web service providers expect to cooperate with the ombudsman directly in the future. This may help experts draw up amendments to regulating documents, which will then be considered by the authorities.
