Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new measure aimed at creating the country's own internet, meaning the internet would no longer need to go thorough international servers.
The change would allow the government to take control "in case there are threats to the stable, safe and integral operation of the Russian Internet on Russian territory."
But as Newsy's Jake Godin has previously reported, critics fear the new measure could lead to censorship.
There are concerns this new legislation could lead to Russia creating its own version of China's Great Firewall — which has been used to severely hinder free speech in the Asian nation. Russia's attempted to squelch internet freedom in the past, namely by banning certain sites and messaging platforms because they refused to follow government orders to curb user privacy. A 2014 law required blogs with more than 3,000 monthly visitors to register as media outlets.
Russia is expected to test the new system later this year. The legislation is set to take effect in November.
