The SAFE project: Russian activist group launches privacy protection initiative

Russian activist group RosKomSvoboda (also known as RuBlacklist) is launching the SAFE project, a new resource that aims to equip internet users to protect themselves from surveillance and violations of privacy.

Devised by specialists, the SAFE project provides a set of guidelines on avoiding unwanted intrusions into personal data and correspondence, presented in simple and clear language.

The materials were always intended for a wide audience, but were particularly aimed at those who might be the subject of observation by intelligence agencies and criminal organisations — recent developments have caused this to change.

“[...] in recent years in Russia, due to the adoption of the Yarovaya Law [a package of legal amendments intended to combat terrorism authored by ultra-conservative lawmaker Irina Yarovaya] this is an issue that concerns all citizens. Our project is as urgent as ever, as Russian-language materials like ours are lacking online,” explains RosKomSvoboda’s technical director Stanislav Shakirov.

“Our specific task is increasing the amount of useful, practical information on how to protect oneself in today’s ‘digital world’. The goal is to increase respect in society for basic human rights such as privacy, freedom of speech and freedom of belief,” Sergei Smirnov, a data specialist and participant in the SAFE project, said of the group’s main aims.

RosKomSvoboda is a Russian group that works to promote the ideas of freedom of speech and information, providing information on public policy and the tightening of government control over the internet.

Source: RosKomSvoboda (in Russian)