Vladimir Putin Wants His Own Internet

A bill that's progressing through Russia's legislature could grant local authorities deeper control over internet access. The so-called 'Sovereign Internet' bill seeks to set up a centralized hub officials can use to manage the flow of information in the nation. From a report: Putin is touting the initiative as a defensive response to the Trump Administration's new cyber strategy, which permits offensive measures against Russia and other designated adversaries. But industry insiders, security experts and even senior officials say political upheaval is the bigger concern. 'This law isn't about foreign threats, or banning Facebook and Google, which Russia can already do legally,' said Andrei Soldatov, author of 'The Red Web: The Kremlin's Wars on the Internet' and co-founder of Agentura.ru, a site that tracks the security services. 'It's about being able to cut off certain types of traffic in certain areas during times of civil unrest.'

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