Analysis of legislation on the legal regulation of the Internet in the CIS countries

The report on the study of Internet regulation in post-Soviet countries dates back to 2007. The document presents the results of the study of laws and the prospects for their influence on the further development of the virtual network. As part of the study, 130 laws of 12 states were studied.

For an in-depth understanding of the general policy of a country and its relationship to the development of the information society, other regulatory documents related to the Internet issue and affecting it were further studied. The legislation of 12 countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States was investigated:

1. Azerbaijan

2. Armenia

3. Belarus

4. Georgia

5. Kazakhstan,

6. Kyrgyz Republic,

7. Moldova,

8. Russian Federation,

9. Tajikistan,

10. Turkmenistan,

11. Uzbekistan,

12. Ukraine.

This review suggests an assessment of the national laws of the CIS member states. The texts of most documents were obtained via the Internet from official websites of government agencies, from international organizations and business companies that are actively working in the surveyed areas. Each law used for the study is accompanied by a brief description of the elements that influence the further development of the Internet. Analysis of the legislation showed that countries are at different stages of Internet policy development, but there are aspects that are common to all countries. From this, we can characterize the situation as follows in the way:

1. CIS countries do not have a comprehensive law on the Internet .

2. In a number of CIS countries, the word “Internet” is not even mentioned in legislation. As a rule, Internet regulatory issues are addressed in concepts, strategies, government regulations and various provisions.

3. The absence of legislation has different consequences.

A) in some countries the absence of such legislation allows the Internet to develop without government intervention. But in this case, at any stage, attempts by the Government to establish control over the Internet may become a reality.

B) in other countries, the lack of legislation regulating the Internet gives free rein to the Government, where officials arbitrarily and contradictoryly decide what is allowed and what is prohibited.

4. There are countries where the Internet is already subject to excessive government regulation, and the goal of future reform in these countries will be to free the Internet from these restrictions.

5. For some countries, a “regulatory” law will streamline legal relations arising in the use of the Internet.

6. In all countries, the “fate” of the Internet largely depends on rules that are not directly related to the Internet.

7. The most effective mechanism for the development of the Internet market is its self-regulation, as the only way to regulate network relations. This will establish rules that satisfy all members of the Internet community, and limit government intervention at a level of reasonable sufficiency.

To cover issues affecting the subject of research, the following structure is selected in the review:

I. Descriptive part: includes a description of the structure, covers the process of work and summarizes the results of the study .

II. Introduction: “Regulatory issues of the Internet sooner or later become more acute.”

Various systems of views on the legal regulation of the Internet are considered.

III. General part: consists of 4 sections. Each section contains its own laws on topics that are relevant to issues affecting the development of the Internet.

1. What is the nature of the site and can it be attributed to the media?

A comparative picture of media laws in the CIS countries is given. At the legislative level, the definitions of the site, Internet, online media. Attached is a brief description of each law relating to this issue.

2. Electronic commerce, including electronic document management, electronic digital signature and electronic payments. An overview of the legislation of the CIS member states in these areas is given, and recommendations of international standards proposed for the formation of national laws are highlighted.

3. Copyright protection on the Internet. The issues of copyright protection at the legislative level in the CIS countries are being considered. A brief description of the legislation by country is given.

4. Computer crimes. The essence of computer crimes is revealed. Analyzed the criminal legislation of the CIS countries.

IV. Appendix: Consolidated List of laws of the CIS countries. This List includes laws that affect the development of the network or affect issues related directly to the Internet.

You can download the full report here.