How to file a lawsuit against Roskomnadzor if you have suffered from blocking

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A life hacker asked a lawyer how to defend their rights to those who were affected by the blocking of IP addresses by the federal department.

How many sites were blocked along with Telegram?

I think there are already hundreds of thousands of such cases. The smoke after the battle has not cleared yet, so it takes time to assess in money what damage companies, advertising agencies, marketers, and businesses have received.

Interruptions in communication, the inability to update their data have been experienced by many companies, starting with Bitrix and ending with the courier service Ptichka. What Roskomnadzor has done is comparable to dropping an atomic bomb to eliminate a pickpocket.

Have entrepreneurs already gone to court?

So far, many are swearing on social networks, but are not ready to seriously sue the state for several reasons. Businessmen are afraid, do not believe in justice, believe that it is expensive and not very effective in the current circumstances.

What should those who do decide to file a claim do?

The first is to file an application for bringing to administrative responsibility officials who deliberately interfered with the site's performance. This is Article 13.18 of the Administrative Code.

The second way is to file a claim. If the site owner is a legal entity, he must apply to the Moscow Arbitration Court. Roskomnadzor can be brought in as a defendant: to present him with demands for recognition of the agency's actions as illegal and a property claim for the amount of losses, lost profits.

In court, it will be necessary to prove that the actions of Roskomnadzor were disproportionate and caused a loss in the form of direct income and lost profits. Considering that the treasury will be the defendant here, a state budgetary enterprise should also be involved.

What can ordinary users do, not companies?

Residents of Russia have the right to self-defense of their civil rights, to a peaceful civil protest, to appeal in courts, to appeal to the competent authorities. Roskomsvoboda and the international human rights group Agora are accepting applications from affected users. We are ready to provide legal assistance and defend rights in courts, especially the right to access information.

What evidence can you provide that I was affected by the blockage?

First of all, you need to fix that the site is inaccessible. This may be a correspondence with the technical support service of the provider, telecom operator, which will confirm that the web resource is not working.

A more expensive option is screenshots certified by a notary.

If this is not possible, take screenshots certified by the staff responsible for the site's performance. The court will accept any evidence, but will evaluate it according to inner conviction.

It is also necessary to establish with the help of technical tools which operators and how they restricted access to the site. The owner can, through channels and groups, ask their users to test the site with these tools. The collected results can be used in court.

Ooni and Blockcheck open source solutions can be used.

Is there a lower limit? Less than what amount of damage is it not worth going to court?

You need to go to court with any amount of damage. Not everyone has money for lawyers, but we are now accepting applications from entrepreneurs and are ready to provide services free of charge: to advise and help those who want to protect their rights.

How big is the chance to beat Roskomnadzor?

I think that no one believes in the miracle that in our court one can simply win in the first instance against Roskomnadzor and the FSB. But this does not mean that you do not need to defend your rights.

It may be a drawn-out battle, but it is very important. Now users are trying to appeal against the requirements of the FSB and the decisions of Roskomnadzor, journalists do it, but business is still silent. And the authorities probably think that entrepreneurs have no problems, and only some "marginalized" are being sued. The critical mass of lawsuits is not visible, which means that everything is in order.

But, unfortunately, blocking Telegram is not the first or the last case. This story can repeat itself over and over again. Therefore, it is important to go to court, defend your rights, and, if necessary, reach international courts in order to change legislation and the absurd practice of its application.

What will happen next?

Given the trends, we understand that this is not about Telegram. Messenger just turned out to be a good opportunity to try something more. What happened to the 16 million Amazon and Google IP addresses is a signal that the government is testing the possibility of shutting down the American giants. This means that by the end of the year, real steps can be taken to restrict access to Facebook, YouTube and a host of other platforms that do not want to comply with Russian legislation.

Yes, users can install proxy and VPN. But do not be naive and believe that technical means will always help. It is also important to use legal mechanisms of protection so that the rights provided by law and the Constitution are always respected.