OPI asked the Cabinet of Ministers for a temporary moratorium on the use of foreign software

The consumer rights protection organization Public Consumer Initiative (PCI) sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and the Federation Council with a request to introduce a temporary moratorium on holding companies accountable for using foreign software without the consent of the copyright holder. About it writes “Kommersant” with a link to the document.

The OPI pointed out the difficulty of quickly switching to Russian software. They explained that for banks, telecom operators and other companies, a change in software will entail not only a “fold increase in capital costs,” but also a “sharp decrease in functionality.” The organization added that now the development companies themselves that have left the Russian Federation can be held accountable for using the software.

The letter states that foreign software is used “Rostelecom“, Tele2, Sberbank, MTS and a number of other companies. As an example, OPI named the programs Cisco, Dell, Nvidia, etc. Tele2 told Kommersant that they only use programs with a perpetual license. Megafon noted that they use the software only under a license from the copyright holder. Rostelecom and MTS did not respond to the newspaper.

The Ministry of Digital Development stated that up to 90% of foreign solutions already have Russian analogues. In other cases, the Cabinet of Ministers, together with interested departments, develops regulations with special conditions, they added. The ministry explained that when allowing the use of foreign software, “the needs of the user, the possibility of import substitution and the need for timely execution of plans for the transition to domestic solutions” will be taken into account.

In the response of the Federation Council, which is also at the disposal of the publication, it is said that the moratorium should apply only to those users who previously legally acquired licenses for foreign software. They noted that by 2027 there will be a sufficient amount of necessary software on the Russian market. By 2030, the Federation Council allowed the possibility of completely replacing foreign software.

In March 2022 Vedomosti wrotethat the government does not plan to abolish liability for the use of software unlicensed in Russia from unfriendly countries. Then the Ministry of Digital Development explained that the department was in favor of “stimulating the transition to Russian software.”