The adoption of a bill that potentially gives Ukrainian authorities almost unlimited control over the Internet, similar to the FSB in Russia, could have negative consequences for the country. The American publication The Daily Beast writes about this, noting that, despite statements about the fight against Kremlin agents, an extensive network of Russian agents seems to still be integrated into all aspects of Ukrainian life, from parliament to the media.
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Sergei Taruta, in a comment to The Daily Beast, noted that President Vladimir Zelensky is not doing enough to get rid of pro-Russian politicians and officials.
The former head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration fears that the new efforts of legislators to provide the State Service of State Special Communications with emergency powers, provided for by bills such as ZP No. 8087 regarding access to the information systems of enterprises and organizations, could lead to an even more destructive influence of Russia on our state and its structures. He is confident that modern Russian intelligence is now operating using more subtle methods, but is just as dangerous as always.
Any attempts to concentrate all power in one institution are dangerous, Taruta is convinced. The concentration of power in one pair of hands without control from democratic institutions can become someone’s effort to totalitarian control over the information space.
The president of one of the oldest IT companies in Ukraine, Adamant, and vice-president of the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Ivan Petukhov, went even further, suggesting that the new law could be deliberately designed for corruption and abuse by Russian agents working in Ukraine.
“I’m not sure whether the author of the bill is an agent, but the network of agents is large, I personally demand an investigation into the participation of deputies from pro-Russian parties in this,” he said in his comments to the American media.
Oleg Chernobay, a member of the Kyiv Regional Bar Council, told The Daily Beast that one government agency should not be given so many powers.
If this bill is passed, the service will have access to confidential data of lawyers’ clients. This bill will accumulate all functions in one department – this is wrong,” he noted.
According to the publication, from the first days of the battle for Kiev, Ukrainian intelligence caught Russian spies, including employees of the Ukrainian special services, accused of collecting and transferring state secrets to Russian representatives, as well as trying to influence personnel decisions in the Ukrainian security agencies. The high-profile cases of Shufrich, Sivkovich, Kulinich and other high-ranking officials are just the tip of the iceberg and the beginning of the path that Ukraine must go through before all the tentacles connecting the power structures in Kiev with the Kremlin are torn off.
Bill No. 8087 is written in such a way that it gives the State Special Communications Service, with the involvement of the SBU and the Cyber Police, the right of full access at any time to any server in Ukraine and applies to all entities without exception, including the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff.
And as Censor.net wrote, these checks pose a threat to national security, because one “mole” in the system means access for Russians to almost any information.
When creating such legislative initiatives, one should clearly understand the consequences of such legislation for the country.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.