Boyarsky

Russia's Article 10.1 on Personal Data Dissemination: Apparent and Real Contradictions in Federal Law 152-FZ

Part II of the analysis examines how the rushed redrafting of Article 10.1 between the first and second readings created serious interpretive problems in Federal Law 152-FZ. The core issues include undefined terms such as 'disclosure', conflicting definitions of 'access', 'provision' and 'dissemination' between 152-FZ and 149-FZ, and the removal of the legal basis for processing publicly available data while retaining the consent mechanism that was meant to control it. Courts have consistently held that mere openness of data does not constitute a valid processing ground, forcing subsequent operators to find their own basis under Article 6. The article highlights that the mechanism for subjects to set conditions and prohibitions was preserved, yet the underlying legal foundation that would make those rules effective was eliminated. Two possible readings of the special consent are explored, with judicial practice leaning toward the narrower interpretation that leaves conditions and prohibitions as mere additional restrictions rather than a source of authorization.