Russian Regulators Want Your Phone Number for Every Single Global Website Login
Moscow's latest attempt to tighten the digital leash involves demanding that every foreign platform force users to register only via phone number. It is a masterclass in bureaucratic delusion, assuming international tech giants will jump through hoops for one market.
The proposed Anti-Fraud 3.0 package, now making its rounds through government offices, seeks to amend Article 8 of the Federal Law on Information. Under these rules, foreign websites would be legally required to mandate phone-number-only authorization for users within the country. To make the digital panopticon complete, these services must also archive every registration, login, and account deletion event for three years, handing over this data to local law enforcement upon request.
Experts are already pointing out the massive technical friction involved. Maxim Ali, a partner at Comply, notes that major international players are rarely interested in building custom, localized entry systems just to satisfy a single nation’s regulatory whims. Denis Kuskov, head of Telecom Daily, echoes this, highlighting the absurdity of demanding compliance from services that are already officially blocked, like those owned by Meta Platforms.
The government plans to push this into the State Duma later in 2026, alongside other initiatives like banning personal data in SMS and expanding the state's retention of user metadata. It is a bold gambit that treats the global internet like a local intranet, essentially betting that the world’s biggest platforms will choose to build a specialized Russian back-end rather than simply saying goodbye to a shrinking user base.
Source: Vedomosti
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