Zhuravlev: An online platform can provide user data
Alexander Zhuravlev, Chairman of the Commission on Legal Support of the Digital Economy of the Moscow Branch of the Russian Lawyers Association, commented on Meta's report on the provision of personal data.
“Different countries have different legislation on personal data and their disclosure. If a tax evasion investigation is underway, this is one story, a crime investigation is another. In many jurisdictions, it is possible to provide such data. In the European Union, for example, there is quite strict legislation on personal data. Each jurisdiction needs to be discussed separately. In Russia, user data, for example, can be requested as part of a criminal investigation. A separate basis can be considered a court decision in a case related to the protection of honor and dignity. In general, we are talking about the ability to protect the rights of citizens, “he said.
According to the Meta report, from January to June 2021, the top countries in terms of the frequency of government requests for personal data of users include countries such as the United States. , India and Germany. The leader in this ranking was the United States with 123 thousand requests as of the end of 2020. The counter also exceeded 10 thousand requests in France, Great Britain, Brazil, Turkey and Poland.
“The important question remains how the platform behaves. The legislation of each country spelled out when it is necessary to provide user data. And then there are questions to the platform: will it cooperate based on the law or, in violation of it, will provide data about users to a particular state. In each case, it is necessary to consider whether there is abuse or not, ”he noted.
Earlier, Kommersant, citing a study by the Big Data Association, VTsIOM and IPSOS, said that most people in Russia are neutral about the collection of personal data by businesses and believe that it is beneficial. Thus, 42 percent of respondents named the purpose of data collection by companies to evaluate goods and services, 28 percent – to improve service, 25 percent – to confirm identity. Nevertheless, according to the Higher School of Economics, 84 percent of Russians feel powerless in the face of the growing risk of losing control over their data on the Internet.
Experts have repeatedly noted that Russian regulators do not require anything from online platforms except to remove destructive content. The problem of its spread is recognized both in the EU and in the UK. These jurisdictions are now actively developing laws that impose serious responsibility on IT giants for the dissemination of dangerous information and threaten them with serious fines. At the same time, it was emphasized that this issue is also quite acute in the United States.
Recall that Facebook has not yet localized the storage of personal data of Russians on the territory of the country, as required by law.