Nearly 100,000 Russians have signed a petition condemning controversial new surveillance laws, as 4,000 activists turned out on the streets in Moscow to protest the move. The bill, approved by Russia's lower house of parliament in June, is known as the "Yarovaya Law" named after the lawmaker from President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. However, it is more colloquially known as the Big Brother law as it requires communications companies to store all messages and phone calls made by their clients for six months and help the government decrypt them.
Newsweek: Almost 100000 Russians call for Big Brother law to be abandoned
Russian activists hold posters during a rally against legislation created by Russian State Duma deputy Irina Yarovaya, also known as the \"Yarovaya Law,\" on August 9, 2016 in Moscow. Known as the \"Yarovaya Law,\" the new law created by Russian State Duma deputy Irina Yarovaya makes it a crime not to report information about terrorist attacks, requires telecom companies to assist the government in breaking encrypted information, and also increases the penalty for \u201cextremism\u201d from four to eight years of imprisonment.
