Kremlin expands surveillance of Russian music and taxi rides

Vladimir Putin has stepped up surveillance of his people in an attempt to quell dissent Credit: AFP

The Kremlin will soon begin restricting Russians' music playlists and tracking their travels by taxi in real time as government surveillance intensifies two weeks after the failed uprising.

Yandex.Music, Russia's most popular music streaming service, said it would create a «safe environment». «, blocking «dangerous» content that activists criticize.

«Recommendations on music services are nothing more than the automation of censorship using algorithms,» said Sarkis Darbinyan, a lawyer for the Russian Roskom Svoboda, who is a Russian public organization.

The music streaming service is part of the Yandex. Once dubbed «Russian Google,» Yandex provides Russians with navigation tools, web searches, a taxi app, food delivery services, and everything in between.

But analysts also say the Kremlin uses Yandex to spy on the Russians and spread their propaganda. Part of this propaganda has been the promotion of pro-war singers and minor anti-war performers, but this is the first time it has placed restrictions on people's musical choices.

To «protect» listeners

Yandex Music said the restrictions were meant to protect listeners from songs with racist and Nazi content, but Roskomsvoboda's Ms. Darbinyan said it was just a smokescreen.

“Musicians who have declared their civic and anti-war stance , are already essentially thrown out of the Russian stage, they are forbidden to perform and earn a living, ”she said. «Now I'm afraid this blacklisting practice will affect all Russian streaming platforms.»

The Kremlin has banned parts of the internet, including YouTube, and Spotify and other Western music streaming services have stopped operating in Russia following the Russian invasion last year.

The new restrictions were put in place after Vladimir Putin was confronted two weeks ago with mutiny orchestrated by his former mercenary commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and analysts have said he needs to regain his powers.

And that means more censorship and more power for his beloved FSB intelligence agency.

Ukraine The Latest: 24/7 access to data

On Friday, the Russian government said it had granted the FSB the right to control the movement of people in taxi aggregator services.

Russian opposition media described new laws to censor taxis in fact giving the FSB » 24/7 remote access» to passenger data.

One of the main functions of the FSB is to monitor the Russian population for any signs of dissent, and Wall Street Magazine reported that foreigners are under heavy surveillance.

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It stated that foreign nationals entering Russia were monitored by a special FSB unit called the DKRO.

They also frequently played intimidation The newspaper reported that games such as hotel room hacking or apartments, moving bookcases and leaving smoked cigarette butts in bathrooms and feces in suitcases.

One of the Wall Street Journal's Russian correspondents, Evan Gershkovich, was arrested in March and charged with espionage. He categorically denies the allegations.