| |
|
Plans to ban gmail denied by Russia
2011-04-12
The Russian security service denied Sat. it had plans to prohibit Skype and Gmail after one of its top officers announced such services posed a major safety risk. The info and special communications director of the Fed Security Service ( FSB ) told a cupboard meeting Fri. that he was growing "increasingly troubled" by the employment of services with foreign-made encryption technology. The comments sparked an instant furor in the Russian Net community and were discharged as a "private opinion" by a source close to President Dmitry Medvedev -- a tech-savvy leader who is frequently seen with an iPad in hand. An FSB spokesperson announced Sat. the agency wasn't proposing a ban on the well-liked services. "Quite the opposite -- the development of advanced technology is a normal activity that should be welcomed," the safety service speaker told Russian news companies. A few researchers noted the sudden offer disclosed another chink in the policies being pursued recently by Medvedev and his presidential predecessor and current P. M. Vladimir Putin. A speaker for previous FSB chief Putin called the ban idea "well-reasoned" and requiring additional debate. Both Putin and Medvedev can doubtless run for president in polls set for next March and their comments are now being read for evidence of which of the 2 has the edge in domestic policy issues.
|
