Russia Prepares Bill to Ban ChatGPT and Gemini: New AI Regulation Framework

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation has presented a new bill aimed at regulating artificial intelligence. The document proposes significant restrictions on the operation of foreign neural networks, including popular services like ChatGPT and Gemini. This initiative, reported by local media and financial outlets, marks a new stage in the country’s attempt to control digital information flows.

New Requirements and Implementation Deadlines

The proposed legislation introduces the legal concept of “cross-border AI technologies.” The primary concern cited by Russian authorities is the transfer of user data to foreign servers. According to the document, the law is scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2027. Under these rules, any foreign AI service with a daily audience in Russia exceeding 500,000 people will be required to store all user data—including queries, chat histories, and metadata—on servers located within the country for a period of three years.

Impact on Users and Local Alternatives

Experts point out a significant paradox: services like ChatGPT and Claude are already officially unavailable in Russia because their developers have blocked access via IP and restricted payments from local banks. Currently, users access these tools through VPNs or third-party aggregators using APIs. Consequently, the new bill is expected to primarily impact domestic Russian services, such as Telegram bots and corporate integrations that resell access to Western technologies. As an alternative, the government suggests that businesses and the public sector transition to open-source models, specifically Chinese technologies like Qwen by Alibaba and DeepSeek, which can be deployed locally on secure servers.