The State Duma Committee supported the bill on access of security forces to databases

The State Duma Committee on Information Policy supported the bill, which provides for the possibility for law enforcement agencies to change, anonymize or delete information about their employees from state, municipal and other information systems. Relevant Notice published in the system of ensuring legislative activity of the lower house of parliament.

The bill was introduced to deputies in August by the government. He proposes to amend 11 laws aimed at introducing a special procedure for processing personal data of certain categories of persons, a list of which will be established by the President of the Russian Federation.

The State Duma Committee on Information Policy recommended that deputies pass the bill in the first reading. If the initiative is approved, law enforcement agencies will have access to state, municipal and other information systems that contain data on the departmental affiliation of their employees. They will be able to change them, anonymize them or delete them.

The bill also envisages the creation, by September 1, 2025, of a register of information systems in which personal data will be processed in a special manner. Control over them will be entrusted to the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation. Each information system will receive from the Ministry of Defense, FSB, FSO, Ministry of Internal Affairs or SVR a certain category of significance depending on the volume of data. The criteria for this significance should be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Russian Federation.

According to the bill, the Ministry of Defense, FSB, FSO, Ministry of Internal Affairs or SVR will be able to demand from the operator of information systems to provide access to the personal data they contain, as well as clarify, extract, anonymize, delete or block information. Security forces may demand that this data be restored. Operators are required to comply with any of these requirements within three business days of receipt. If the operators do not provide security forces with access to the information system, then from March 1, 2026, its operation will be prohibited.

The State Duma Committee on Information Policy proposed to consider the bill at the plenary session of the chamber on November 16.

October 23 Association of Banks of Russia (ADB; includes Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank“Tinkoff” and etc.) spoke against giving intelligence services access to information systems and customer databases. Credit institutions reacted this way to the bill, which was developed “with the aim of establishing a special procedure for processing personal data of certain categories of persons.” In particular, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the FSO and the FSB can get access to edit or delete information about intelligence officers who have accounts in a particular bank.