Edward Snowden, the famed NSA whistleblower currently living in asylum in Russia, has called on President Vladimir Putin to not sign a law that Snowden says could violate individual privacy and freedom.
In a tweet on Saturday, Snowden called the Yarovaya Law the "Big Brother law," adding that it was an "unjustifiable violation of rights" that would harm "every Russian" and ultimately "take money" from them.
Russia's new Big Brother law is an unworkable, unjustifiable violation of rights that should never be signed. https://t.co/HNsYmRaxR3 — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) June 25, 2016
As reported by The Guardian, his comments came after Russia's lower house of parliament voted 325 to 1 to adapt the law, which includes wide-ranging amendments to privacy laws that supporters say will ultimately improve the country's ability to fight terrorist activity across the country.
But the legislation requires Russian citizens to inform the government whenever they believe they have "reliable" information on a possible terror attack, uprisings, and a slew of other crimes, The Guardian notes. Anyone who does not supply the government with actionable information could face jail time. Those who take to the Internet to support terrorism could face a seven-year jail sentence.
Many, including Snowden, have also railed against the rules that would be applied to telephone and Internet service providers, which would be required to maintain communication records for six months and all Internet metadata for a period of three years. "'Store 6 months of content' is not just dangerous, it's impractical. What is that, ~100PB of storage for even a tiny 50Gbps ISP?" Snowden tweeted.
Snowden has lived in Russia since 2013 after fleeing the US, which wants to prosecute him for leaking classified data. It remains to be seen if speaking out against this legislation in his new home will have ramifications. Despite Snowden's objections, it's likely that the law will pass the upper house in Russia and be signed by President Vladimir Putin, The Guardian says.