Kremlin demands that Snapchat stores its user data in Russia
Roskomnadzor (Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media) added Snapchat to the register of companies that organize and disseminate information anonymously.
The company was registered unilaterally, RBC news agency reports with reference to the representative of Snap Inc. (the company-owner of the application).
"We provided very basic contact information, but not with the goal of being registered, we did not know how they[Roskomnadzor] intended to use it," he explained.
A representative of the company in a conversation with the Russian BBC service said that Snap Inc. "is not going to comply with the requirements" of Roskomnadzor.
Earlier Roskomnadzor added Snapchat to the list of organizers and disseminators of information. The agency reported that "the company was entered into the register after it provided the necessary information in response to the request of Roskomnadzor."
Now, Russian law enforcement agencies can send requests to the service asking to provide information about users. According to the law ‘On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection,’ Snapchat is now required to store information regarding the reception, transmission, and processing of voice, text, images, sounds, and video collected in Russia for six months. This information can be requested by the FSB.
Snapchat allows users to share photos, messages, and videos that disappear after a short time. According to Mediascope, as cited by RBC, 412,700 unique users accessed the application in June.