The Bell, an independent Russian business outlet, reported that the Second Service of the Federal Security Service (FSB) has taken control of Russia's internet following the March 2024 terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. The Second Service, officially the FSB's Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order and the Fight against Terrorism, inherited functions of the KGB's Fifth Directorate, which was responsible for combating "ideological sabotage" and persecuting dissidents. According to The Bell, its officers attempted to poison Alexei Navalny in 2020 and were involved in the criminal prosecutions of directors Kirill Serebrennikov and Evgenia Berkovich.
Until recently, technical FSB units controlled the internet, and the Second Service did not participate in discussions of the "Yarovaya law" or the "sovereign internet" law. The turning point came after the Crocus attack: the Second Service's leadership attributed the failure to Telegram's refusal to cooperate with Russian authorities and to the SORM system's inability to track preparations for attacks. Inspections revealed that the actual system differed significantly from what the law required, leading to disciplinary action against the FSB's Scientific and Technical Service and the Second Service becoming the main internet curator.
In the two years since the attack, Moscow courts have imposed at least 140 fines on operators and internet companies for SORM violations, compared to only 50 in the previous four years. Authorities have also begun forcibly adding online services to the registry of information dissemination organizers, which requires them to install SORM; since early 2024, 124 new resources have been added.
In spring 2026, state media published FSB materials accusing Telegram of being used in preparing hundreds of terrorist attacks, after which authorities blocked Telegram and WhatsApp. The Bell reports that the Second Service also pushed for fines for searching for extremist materials and for recognizing VPN use as an aggravating circumstance. Additionally, the FSB plans to extend SORM installation requirements to crypto exchanges and gaming platforms, and the Ministry of Digital Development has supported a new licensing system that, according to a source cited by the outlet, could remove more than 80% of operators from the market.