MOSCOW, August 18 (RAPSI) – The Russian government has approved a decree allowing Internet users to obtain public Wi-Fi access using their cell phone numbers, accounts on the Common Government Services Portal or ID cards, RIA Novosti reported Monday.

The government prohibited anonymous access to public Wi-Fi by a decree which was signed by Dmitry Medvedev on August 8.

Notably, it was a group of State Duma lawmakers headed by Irina Yarovaya, Chairperson of the Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption Measures, who advocated restricting public Wi-Fi access. The lawmakers drafted a bill on public Wi-Fi stipulating that users need to identify themselves in order to access the Internet.

Effective August 13, communications service providers require public Wi-Fi user identification.

It was reported initially that a passport will be required to access Wi-Fi in a cafe or shopping mall which caused confusion among providers and alarmed users.