Russia's mass media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has officially asked social network Facebook, e-mail service Gmail, and microblogging site Twitter to register in Russia as "organizers of information distribution."
Media reports in Russia quoted Roskomnadzor's deputy chairman, Maksim Ksenzov, as telling the "Izvestia" newspaper that the move had been made in accordance with a new law on Internet companies and bloggers.
In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law binding mail services and social networks to place personal data about Russian users only on servers in Russia as of September 2016.
The law also requires bloggers with more than 3,000 daily readers to register with Roskomnadzor, and conform to the regulations that govern Russia's regular media outlets.
Last week, the Russian State Duma adopted amendments in the first reading, according to which, the law will come into force as of January 2015.
Based on Izvestia and ITAR-TASS
