On December 02, 2019 the Federal Law “On introduction of Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” No. 405-FZ (“the Law”) has come into force. The Law amends the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation and introduces fines for violation of personal data protection legislation. Particularly, the noncompliance with the so‑called “personal data localization” shall be subject to administrative liability of personal data operators.

1. NEW FINES IN FIGURES

The Law provides for the following fines for the first breach of obligation to localize personal data in the Russian Federation:

• For legal entities – from RUB 1 000 000 (EUR 14 000) to RUB 6 000 000 (EUR 85 000);

• For executives – from RUB 100 000 (EUR 1 400) to RUB 200 000 (EUR 2 800);

• For individuals – from RUB 30 000 (EUR 400) to RUB 50 000 (EUR 700).

The company will be fined for up to EUR 250 000 for repeated violation of personal data localization rule.

• For legal entities – from RUB 6 000 000 (EUR 85 000) to RUB 18 000 000 (EUR 250 000);

• For executives – from RUB 500 000 (EUR 7 000) to RUB 800 000 (EUR 11 400);

• For individuals – from RUB 50 000 (EUR 700) to RUB 100 000 (EUR 1 400).

Besides, the Law introduces higher fines for personal data offences by operators of search engines, messaging systems and multimedia services.

2. LOCALIZATION RULE: NATURE OF OBLIGATION

Since 2015, all personal data operators are obliged to store the personal data of Russian citizens in the databases located in the territory of the Russian Federation. The performance of the so‑called “localization” has been controlled by the supervising authorities during inspection. Before 2019, the Administrative Offences Code did not contain fines for violation of localization rule. However, the authorities have had powers to initiate legal proceedings on blocking of website which does not comply with localization rule. The most prominent case was legal proceedings against LinkedIn social network.

This newsletter shall not be viewed as legal advice. It is prepared for educational and informational purposes only. Mosgo & Partners is not responsible for any consequences of reliance on the information contained in this newsletter without specific professional advice.

© Mosgo & Partners. Moscow, 2019.