The Russian parliament on Tuesday officially approved a government plan to test the independence of the country’s internet, known as Runet, by disconnecting it from the global Internet. The plan will now move on to the upper house of parliament, which is bound to approve it, after which President Vladimir Putin can add his signature.
According to Russia, the law intends to help the country protect its digital assets against foreign attacks. One of the bill’s authors stated that “[i]f we see that others have the technical capabilities to carry out attacks on the Russian internet then we must have the technical capability to resist those attacks.”
However, various security experts believe that the test actually aims to bolster Moscow’s censorship capabilities. Last month, thousands of Russian citizens staged a protest against the bill over worries that it will create an “online Iron Curtain.”
Read more: Russia’s parliament votes to unplug internet from world
