MOSCOW, July 24 (RAPSI) – State Duma lawmaker Alexei Chepa (A Just Russia) has drafted a law to fight social media accounts, Izvestia newspaper writes on Thursday.

The lawmaker complained that it had become routine to establish fake online forum or media accounts to incite undesirable sentiments or post unreliable information. He has drafted amendments to the Law on Information, Information Technology and Information Protection.

“The Internet has become a second reality and an inalienable part of our lives, but there is no clear legal mechanism to fight online violations,” Chepa told Izvestia.

He has proposed giving people the right to file a complaint with the telecommunications authority Roskomnadzor on the illegal use of their names online. The complaint would need to be substantiated and the complainant would have to provide his or her personal data.

Roskomnadzor would review the complaint before instructing social media providers and owners to block a fake account. “If they disregard the instruction, Roskomnadzor would have the right to block access to the account, if possible, until the owner deletes the fake account,” the newspaper writes.

However, Roskomnadzor considers this protective measure to be excessive. “We believe that the effective federal law on personal data is sufficient for dealing with fake social media accounts,” said Vadim Ampelonsky, press secretary of the telecommunications authority.