Federal Wi-Fi Law. How It Works: Legal Wi-Fi in Public Places

And amendments to the federal law "On Communications" and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (KOAP), which will allow legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to be fined for the lack of identification of users of their public Wi-Fi networks. About it reported on the official website of the ministry.

It is planned to charge a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 rubles for providing anonymous Wi-Fi. from individual entrepreneurs and from 100 thousand to 200 thousand rubles. from legal entities.

Repeated violation of the law will cost individual entrepreneurs already 10-100 thousand rubles. or disqualification for up to three years, and legal entities will pay up to 300 thousand rubles.

Administrative responsibility for such offenses is planned to be established from the first quarter of 2016.

At the same time, government decree No. 758 on access to the public Internet with an identity card came into force last summer. According to the document, the telecom operator, before allowing access to the Internet, must require you to enter a number mobile phone, to which the code is sent to confirm the data.

The operator was the first to comply with the requirements of the decree WiFi networks of the Moscow metro "Maxima Telecom", at the end of February, 2015 started procedure of obligatory authorization of users through mobile number.

As of May 2015, the registered subscriber base of this network totaled about 4.5 million people.

However, not everyone followed the example of Maxima. That has caused concern of the Minister of Communications . As part of the May meeting of the government commission on communications, he noted that some public Wi-Fi access points still did not provide user identification. "Visitors of Russia's largest chain of cafes fast food still enjoy public access to the Internet without registration,” the minister complained.

At the same time, Nikiforov first voiced the idea that entrepreneurs and legal entities should be responsible for identifying users.

However, McDonald's, the "largest cafe chain in Russia" mentioned by the minister, decided not to wait for changes in the legislation and independently introduced authorization for its Wi-Fi in all its Russian restaurants.

There is nothing negative in the very idea of ​​​​overcoming anonymous access to the Internet in in public places No, says the head of the board (IRI). Especially if the issue will be resolved using the simplified identification procedure by mobile phone number, he told Gazeta.Ru.

Klymenko also noted that there should not be any particular difficulties in the implementation of the law, and the entrepreneurs themselves will not incur significant costs.

A representative of one of the Wi-Fi providers for a number of Moscow restaurants and public places also agrees with the head of the IRI board. According to him, equipping one Wi-Fi point with a mandatory identification mechanism will cost a maximum of 10 thousand rubles.

Another source in the Internet provider market told Gazeta.Ru that in Russia today there are more than 100 thousand public WiFi hotspots and most of their owners will prefer to comply with the requirements of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications.

At the same time, the source questioned the effectiveness of user identification through a mobile number due to the abundance of illegal SIM cards that are freely available for sale. “Today, you can buy a SIM card without a passport almost everywhere, which makes all authorization measures meaningless,” he summed up.

Moscow, July 21, 2015.— On the Federal Portal of Draft Regulatory Legal Acts, the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media prepared Russian Federation bill to amend the federal law"On Communications" and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (CAO), which are proposed to establish liability for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs for organizing public Wi-Fi networks that do not provide identification of users and user equipment. According to the document, fines for individual entrepreneurs should range from five thousand rubles to fifty thousand rubles, for legal entities - from one hundred thousand rubles to two hundred thousand rubles. Repeated violation of the law by individual entrepreneurs will be punishable by a fine of ten thousand rubles to one hundred thousand rubles or disqualification for up to three years, by legal entities - a fine of two hundred thousand rubles to three hundred thousand rubles.

The bill, which the Ministry of Communications of Russia is developing jointly with the Federal Security Service of Russia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, intends to oblige legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to provide free Internet access in public places only if there is an agreement with a telecom operator on user identification. For violation of the identification procedure, it is proposed to establish administrative liability, starting from the first quarter of 2016.

The decision to develop a regulatory legal act was adopted following a discussion at the Government Communications Commission, which took place on May 27, 2015 under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Arkady Dvorkovich. Recall, speaking at the meeting, the head of the Russian Ministry of Communications Nikolai Nikiforov noted that the organizers of a noticeable number of public Wi-Fi networks still did not introduce mandatory user identification. He also noted the need to establish in the Code of Administrative Offenses the responsibility of legal entities and private entrepreneurs for non-compliance with Russian legislation.

Recall that the amendments to the Federal Law “On Communications” concerning the identification of users of public Wi-Fi networks were adopted in pursuance of Law No. 97-FZ of May 5, 2014 “On Amending the Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Security Information” and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation on the issues of streamlining the exchange of information using information and telecommunication networks. The bill was prepared by a group of deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation headed by Irina Yarova, chairperson of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, and submitted in January 2014 to the State Duma as part of a package of bills that tighten measures against terrorism. It is in line with accepted international practice.

Decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 758 dated July 31, 2014 and No. 801 dated August 12, 2014 expanded the possibilities for identifying subscribers of communication networks, including public Wi-Fi networks. As a result of the adoption of these resolutions, operators were able to use not only a passport, a user's mobile phone number for identification, but also identify him using data unified system identification and authentication (ESIA) or using a login and password from single portal public services. So, from July 13, 2015, a connection using a login and password from the Unified Public Services Portal to a Wi-Fi network on the Zamoskvoretskaya and Sokolnicheskaya lines of the Moscow metro began to work.

July 31, 2014, which establishes the procedure for identifying users when accessing the Internet. It follows from the clarification that if a Wi-Fi access point is installed by a telecom operator, then the user is obliged to provide his personal data - last name, first name, patronymic, number of an identity document. If the access point is installed by a private person, then the new rules do not impose any obligations on him to obtain personal data of users.

According to the Communications Act, an operator is entity or individual entrepreneur providing communication services on the basis of an appropriate license. At the same time, the ministry notes that the established procedure for identifying users gives the operator the opportunity to choose exactly how this procedure will take place. For example, the user can send an SMS or fill out an appropriate form. Besides, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications clarifies, the operator can identify the user through a request to the appropriate authority. At the same time, it is noted that the user is obliged to provide any identification information: first name, last name, patronymic, driver's license number, and more.

The ministry also said in a statement that a direct obligation to present an identity document is provided for when a citizen applies for a service at a collective access point, for example, at the Russian Post office, if the connection is provided as part of universal communication services.

The legislation does not clearly define the term “collective access point”, however, Article 57 of the Law “On Communications” refers this service to “universal communication services”, which also includes “telephone communication services using payphones”. The law guarantees the provision of universal communication services throughout Russia, with the exception of settlements with a population of less than 500 people.

Previously Head of Department information technologies of the city of Moscow Artem Ermolaev, which, in the government decree, does not apply to points of free Internet access via Wi-Fi in public places. According to him, in the subway, hospitals, parks and other public places, Internet access will remain anonymous. “Use Wi-Fi and enjoy the Internet,” Yermolaev wished Muscovites.

However, later the Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation Nikolai Nikiforov explained on his Twitter: “User identification (by bank card, cell number, etc.) when accessing public Wi-Fi is a global practice. The need to identify users, incl. Wi-Fi, follows from the adopted "anti-terrorism" federal laws. But public Wi-Fi operators won't necessarily require your paper passport. It can also be an SMS code to a cell number. Also, for millions of Russian citizens, a convenient way to identify in public. Wi-Fi can be a password from the public services portal. I don’t remember that at any of the international airports in recent years it would be possible to completely anonymously access the Wi-Fi network. You may only need to present your passport, for example, if you came to the village at the point of collective access to the Russian Post.

The government decree supplemented the previously approved rules for the provision of communication services. “User identification is carried out by the telecom operator by establishing the surname, name, patronymic (if any) of the user, confirmed by an identity document,” the resolution states. In addition, an organization that directly provides Internet access will have to provide its telecom operator with a list of persons who have used the Internet. Among the data that must be transmitted are the surname, name, patronymic, place of residence, data of the document itself. Also, organizations will have to record the time and volume of services provided to provide Internet access. The telecom operator will have to store all this data for six months and provide it to law enforcement agencies.

The day before, August 7, social networks and other popular sites install equipment and software, with the help of which special services will be able to automatically receive information about the actions of users. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed the corresponding government decree No. 743 on July 31.

This resolution clarified the provision of the “law on bloggers”. It states that sites must connect equipment and software for security forces. At the same time, the resolution prohibits websites from disclosing “organizational and technique carrying out operational-search activities. Who will pay for the installation of this equipment is not specified in the resolution. As RBC said in Yandex and Mail.ru Group, the adoption of this resolution for Internet companies was unexpected.

Vladislav Gordeev

The Internet has ceased to be free, and Wi-Fi in public places is anonymous: in order to hang on the network for free, now you have to enter a phone number, or even passport data. The guests are dissatisfied, the owners of the establishments too - for violating the new law, Roskomnadzor threatens with a fine of up to 300,000 rubles. Togliatti IT specialists came up with a system that helps to reduce the degree of negativity for both. We tell you how it works and how it helps customers get rid of annoying check-in in cafes and restaurants, and the latter - to adapt to loyal visitors.

The essence of the problem

The institution can introduce a one-time registration option - you will have to log in only once

Who decides

Many services have come to the aid of intimidated restaurant owners that allow them not to break the law and not to annoy users with annoying check-ins. One of these was the FlyGo Media authorization system - software for legal access to the network via a Wi-Fi connection. The authors of the product were Togliatti IT specialists. The software is already used by the oldest Togliatti restaurants "Ilya Muromets" and "Cart", "Hlopok", coffee house "Bin" and the first shopping center of Avtograd "Rus on the Volga".

Profit for the institution

The product aims directly at managers - managers of the HoReCa segment and system administrators. Everyone will be able to understand the registration process: at the first stage, the owner of the site is registered and gets into Personal Area. Here he chooses a tariff and enters registration data about the site. After checking and paying for them, the firmware is downloaded to the existing router - you don’t have to change the equipment already installed in the institution, as is often the case.

There is no need to change the equipment already installed in the institution

The software offers three options tariff plans. The cheapest: placing a developer's banner on the start page will cost the institution 1500 per month. For a luxury offer with two banners of the institution itself, on which you can write down information about promotions, you need to pay 2,500 rubles. You can finally fall in love with a frequent guest or charm a new one by placing any promo on the start page: appearance the main one is configured individually. Additional options are determined by the selected tariff.

Checkin without problems

For users, the online authorization algorithm also goes without much trouble: the client enters his phone number, after which he receives a confirmation code on his mobile to connect to Wi-Fi. At the same time, the institution itself can introduce the option of a one-time registration - having logged in once, you will not have to send an SMS on subsequent visits.

On the start page, you can place any promotional information that the institution wants to convey to the guest

Manufacturers of such software also claim that their product is a shield and a sword for security. For example, the program is designed to reduce the number of cases of hacking social media accounts. If earlier a user, accessing a social network through free Wi-Fi, risked running into a phishing site and spamming everyone with requests to lend money, then official agreements with providers should exclude such force majeure.

08/21/2014 | 13:21 Society

Laws are different. Good and bad. Only one thing they are always similar - the laws eventually cease to be correct.

It was difficult to foresee that the first appeals to me as an Internet ombudsman would come not from specialized market participants, but from ordinary owners of small restaurants and cafes. Of course, no one has yet managed to offend them, and the appeal itself is more like a dumb question hanging in the air: “What should we do now?”

So after all, is it possible or not to provide restaurant guests with free Wi-Fi, and do I need to ask for a passport?

Unfortunately, all possible comments and clarifications, as well as resolutions, did not bring clarity. And, of course, any subsequent ones will not contribute either. Which will certainly be.

Therefore, my answer is extremely simple: it is necessary to take and cancel the Decree of July 31, 2014 N 758.

Now let me digress...
Ordinary cafe. Which is connected to the Internet under an agreement - say, with the operator RosTeleBiMTS. The latter unequivocally identified its subscriber LLC Cafe. Cafe LLC uses the Internet for its own needs. And in the meantime sends through the latter also tax reporting. Realizing the fact that during a business lunch in a nearby cafe there are visitors, but they don’t, the cafe management found out the reason. There is free Wi-Fi in the cafe next door!! And, it turns out, this circumstance attracts whole shoals of office plankton for lunch, which continues to work during lunch, which generates huge revenue for the competitor. Rapid mobilization - CEO ordered to eliminate competitive inequality. And in our cafe there is a router that distributes free Wi-Fi. Life got better. Revenue crept up. The clients are happy. Business is on. And here, like a bolt from the blue, Decree No. 758! What to do? Turn off the Internet - lose customers. Do not turn off - break the law. So does the cafe break the law or not? The answer is paradoxical. But that's exactly it: yes and no. It seems like it violated even before the decision, but it seems like it didn’t. And henceforth it seems like it will violate, but it seems like it won't.

And now on fingers. The cafe is connected to the Internet on the basis of a subscription agreement with a telecom operator. The cafe does not provide telematic services to anyone (it does not have a license for telematics, it is not registered as a communication center), since it only provides the guest with the opportunity to use their Internet connection. The situation is very similar to the one when you plug your charger into the electrical outlet of this same cafe and consume electricity under an agreement between Cafe LLC and Mosenergo, and not under an agreement between you and Cafe LLC.

In this situation, our provider RosTeleBiMTS cannot and should not carry out user identification. Since he should carry out this procedure only when he distributes Wi-Fi. Here, he has one subscriber, and this subscriber is Cafe LLC. The cafe also should not identify anyone and is not obliged to ask for a passport, since it does not provide telematic services and is not a telecom operator. But! According to the same resolution, LLC "Cafe" is obliged once a quarter to transmit a list of persons using its Internet, certified by the director of the cafe. And here comes the puzzle. Naturally, the director will submit an up-to-date staffing, but more simply - a list of cafe employees who regularly use open point Wi-Fi access in the restaurant. Since Cafe LLC is not obliged, unlike the telecom operator, to provide a list of identified client equipment, then Cafe LLC provides free Internet access for its customers absolutely legally.

Conclusion: Restaurants and cafes can continue to delight us free wifi access.
But access to the Internet in the park is provided for us by the telecom operator, so it will be possible to get it only after sending an SMS message or entering the EPGU credentials. You can't imagine a better situation for scammers! That there will be a hacking of an account on Twitter and mail after the account of the park of culture and recreation teeming with logins and passwords.

And a bit more. The desire to identify a person entering the Internet is absurd in itself without identifying the device. Identifying a device connected to a network is meaningless without applying common sense to the traffic generated by that device.
To achieve at least some effect, you need to build an ecosystem electronic registration each person on the territory of the Russian Federation, namely a person (a citizen and a tourist), each device of this person that can connect to the Internet (in the short term, these are all household appliances and personal gadgets), and the mandatory establishment of a relationship between a person and a list of devices.
I would very much like such “laws and regulations” to be adopted not from the point of view of today, but from the point of view of tomorrow. Otherwise, the business in our cafe will shrink ...

And we still need to think about our cafe. Not so long ago, visitors were banned from smoking in cafes. And now all the customers are running outside. Whether it is good or bad that they banned smoking, it is definitely impossible to say. There are pluses. There are downsides. Breathing in the cafe became easier. It's more comfortable indoors. Plus. The guest runs outside. May get sick. Minus. Together with the guest, the nymph “treat me with a cigarette” quickly runs, which before the adoption of the law for a long time missed a cup of coffee all evening, being in a passive search - is this a plus or a minus? You decide. 😉 But I wonder - when the law was introduced, were the authors for the health or for the illness of citizens? For marriage, family or divorce? Such good law, and the time will come, and even he, perhaps, will cease to be correct. And what about the laws governing the Internet? Need to think. Think tomorrow when we try to regulate the Internet. And it incites me to write at the end: like it if you are for the abolition of the decision!