Deputies of the State Duma of Russia approved a bill at a plenary meeting that aims to change how citizens’ appeals in electronic format are considered, during its first reading. The bill specifies that appeals will only be processed if the email address provided has a Russian domain. Proposed in October at the initiative of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory, the bill seeks to amend the current law “On the procedure for considering appeals of citizens of the Russian Federation.”
The key change outlined in the bill pertains to the method citizens must use when addressing state authorities, local self-government, or officials. Currently, citizens are required to provide their email address or use the address of their Personal Account on the Public Service portal when submitting an appeal. The proposed amendments would mandate citizens to use an email address with a Russian domain exclusively, with no responses given to appeals sent from foreign domain addresses.
According to the bill’s authors, legislative bodies in various regions of Russia commonly receive spam emails from foreign domain addresses. The explanatory note accompanying the bill highlights that less than 5% of appeals from foreign addresses are considered valid and non-spam. Additionally, the authors stress the need for the state to address such abuses and curb the disruptive actions of dishonest applicants that hinder the operation of authorities at all levels.