Russian officials are thinking about banning calls from Skype

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia has developed a draft resolution “On Amendments to the Rules for Interconnecting Telecommunication Networks and Their Interaction”. It proposes to oblige all telecom operators in an unchanged form to transmit accurate information about the number of the subscriber initiating the call. About it сообщается on the website of the ministry.

In particular, we are talking about prohibiting the substitution of telephone numbers: for example, when data transfer is used to establish an anonymous connection when it is transmitted over the Internet. The decree does not imply a direct ban on Skype or similar services, and it is not planned to limit their work, the department stressed.

“The widespread use of technology with the substitution of the caller’s number carries threats of a socio-economic nature, and also creates threats to the lives of citizens and the safety of society. Such a substitution makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to work, ”the ministry said.

Also, as explained in the Ministry of Communications, the change of numbers leads to interference and breaks in the connections, degradation of the transmitted voice information. “Because of the substitution of numbers, it is impossible to correctly identify the caller’s number, which not only prevents the called party from making a counter call, but also does not protect against unlawful and fraudulent activities,” the ministry added. As an example, agencies that use masked numbers are cited, as well as cases of charging subscription fees after a call to a replacement number, sending SMS spam.

Previously, Forum wrote that Skype allowed to call to all French numbers for free against the backdrop of the terrorist attacks in Paris.

Terrorists attacked "Bataclan" on the night of November 13-14, taking hostage the spectators who came to the rock band's concert and opening fire on them. As a result, 132 people died.