Information Intermediaries Liability in Russia: Development and Trends

Along with the Internet development and implementation of online services the number of digital communications has steeply increased and continues its rise. Due to the network organization and specific nature of relations conducted within the Internet, such relationships always include special subjects among with the users of the network. Such special subjects are the information intermediaries, providing technical possibilities for data transfer, and taking part in such transfer, processing of information and allowing access to it. In other words, the intermediaries maintain all the processes that take place within the Internet. In 2013 the Russian legislation was amended and the special term “information intermediary” was introduced. This term is aggregate for different kinds of intermediaries which are distinguished according to the functions performed by them. Such amendments also provided for the grounds of intermediaries’ liability limitation. The relevance and applicability of the issues of information intermediaries liability is determined by the growing number of network users and the fact that the services rendered in the Internet are becoming more and more affordable. As a consequence, rights infringements, such as illegal posting of content, distribution of the prohibited information, hacking, computer frauds, take place in the Internet every day. In the present work the retrospective and current provisions of the information intermediaries’ liability as well as the presupposed amendments are considered. The analysis of such provisions and its comparison with the USA and EU acts helps to assess the effectiveness of current legislation, elicit the problems faced and suggest the solutions.