On July 13, 2015 the Russian President signed a federal law which has acquired certain fame under the name of ‘the right to oblivion.’

Federal Law No.264-FZ of the Russian Federation dated July 13, 2015 (the “Law”) imposes additional obligations on communications operators as regards deleting links to certain information on the Internet, and introduces a number of changes to the effective law on information, information technologies and protection of information.

In particular, the Law defines a search engine as an information system that performs a search on a user’s request of particular information on the Internet. The information systems used for state and municipal functions are an exception to this definition.

Pursuant to the Law, a search engine operator, having received a motivated application from an individual, is obliged to cease giving links to pages with information about this person. That said, the operator is obliged to delete such information only if certain criteria are met. Among such criteria, the lawmakers have pointed out the following: if information is being disseminated in violation of Russian laws, if the information is false and outdated or the information has lost significance for the applicant in connection with subsequent events and actions of the applicant. Information on events that bear signs of a criminal act (if the statute of limitations period has not run out), as well as on the person committing a criminal act (if the criminal record or sentence has not been expunged or served) cannot be deleted. It should also be noted that the Law applies to operators of foreign search engines if they post advertisement on the Internet aimed at consumers on Russian territory.

In order to have certain information deleted, it is sufficient for the applicant to send a motivated request to the search engine operator. Within 10 work days after such request is received, the operator is obliged to cease giving links to the information indicated in the motivated request or send a motivated denial to the applicant. The applicant is entitled to contest such denial in court.

The Law takes effect starting from January 01, 2016.

Full version of the Law is available here

Valentina Alikova   Associate  Moscow      Tel.: +7 (495) 970 10 90

Irina Afanasieva    Associate    Moscow      Tel.: +7 (495) 970 10 90

Additional notes

Should any questions arise in connection with the above or if you need any additional materials, please contact Irina Afanasieva or Valentina Alikova, Moscow Office of Capital Legal Services.

This Information letter keeps the clients of Capital Legal Services and other interested parties abreast of information that may, to any extent, affect their activity or cater to their particular interests. The opinions and commentaries expressed in this information letter shall not be deemed as legal opinions and do not cancel the need to obtain legal advice or legal opinion on separate issues.