Russia Tightens Rules for Gmail and Apple ID Authorization

The Federation Council of the Russian Federation has approved amendments to legislation providing for large fines for owners of internet resources who violate user authorization rules. Now, platforms that do not restrict access to sites and apps within the country via foreign systems will face serious financial liability. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .

According to the new legislative act, only approved identification methods must be used to access resources in the Russian internet segment (Runet). These include confirmation via mobile phone number, state identification systems (ESIA and the Unified Biometric System), and authorization through local services. This is the next step toward restricting the use of international services such as Gmail or Apple ID.

Fine Amounts and Liability

Administrative penalties for violations will vary depending on the status of the offender. According to Ixbt.com, the fines for platform owners who fail to comply with the requirements are set as follows:

• For citizens (individuals) — from 5 thousand to 10 thousand rubles;
• For officials — from 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles;
• For legal entities — from 200 thousand to 700 thousand rubles.

According to Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, these measures are not directed against ordinary internet users. The primary responsibility lies with platform owners who have ignored legislative requirements for two years. This means ordinary users may continue using their accounts, but site owners are forced to migrate to the new system.

Technological Independence and Security

Russian lawmakers believe this measure will help reduce the dependence of the country's internet segment on foreign technologies. In particular, moving away from authorization systems provided by Western countries is seen as an important condition for ensuring national data security.

For Uzbek users, this news may cause additional inconveniences when using services in the Russian segment (e.g., e-commerce, education, or entertainment portals). In the future, it is highly likely that only Russian numbers or local systems will be required to register on Russian sites.

Experts note that such a policy of "digital sovereignty" will lead to further fragmentation of the global internet. Through these steps, the Russian government aims to strengthen control over user data and ensure system stability under external sanctions.