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https://decrypt.co/11947/moscow-bans-sale-of-gadgets-without-russian-made-software
The potential to integrate mass surveillance into the common Internet infrastructure has analysts worried. A booming blackmarket for foreign smartphones seems likely.
A law requiring that foreign-made consumer-electronic devices must be pre-installed with Russian-made software was passed by Russia's lower house of parliament on Thursday. It covers smartphones, computers and smart televisions, and will go into effect in July, 2020.
The aim of the new legislation is to promote Russian technology, according to its proponents. But some fear that making Russian-made apps mandatory will provide a backdoor for surveillance. Critics also claim that this promotes technologically inferior software, and might cause international manufacturers to pull out of the Russian market.
[...] On Reddit, users expressed concerns about the quality of the Russian alternatives, in comparison to international brands such as Windows and Google.
"I'm sure you meant Gugal, comrade. You no use Gugal, you go to Gulag," quipped one Redditor.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Saturday November 23 2019, @06:19PM (1 child)
So, mandatory Russian-made apps will provide a backdoor for surveillance... but Chinese or India made apps don't provide back doors for surveillance?
Sorry, I don't see what is so horribly wrong about this ban except such a simplistic mandate would be quite insufficient. Around here I'd love to see some incentives to get more USA made software or hardware out there instead of being dependent on foreign countries. But accomplishing such a goal would require a much more complicated incentive to ensure companies do more than provide a token gesture to meet the letter of a law.
Back doors are a separate issue that have more do to about the lack of strict privacy laws and enforcement.
Low quality software? Well, then time to start investing money in training and education for your own citizens again. That is kind of the point.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday November 24 2019, @01:29AM
It's going to hurt Russian people, for starters. China got away with one-sided trade restrictions because it was building up its industrial base, oriented towards massive exports to the developed world. Russia has already had plenty of opportunity to grow competitive industry. It instead squandered that opportunity on decades of political economics.
There's not much point to trying to get rid of foreign dependencies when you're not going to replace those dependencies with something equivalent. It's a net crippling of your society instead.