MOSCOW, RUSSIA / RankWire.AI / – Russia’s Federation Council approved a legislative bill on July 17 establishing national regulations for the development and deployment of large artificial intelligence foundation models. The legislation defines legal parameters, grants regulatory authority, and supports qualified domestic developers. It also outlines criteria for model oversight, data storage, user notifications, and AI-generated content. Having cleared the State Duma on July 8, the bill now awaits presidential approval before becoming law.
The bill describes a large foundation model as software capable of performing numerous intellectual tasks at a level comparable to human abilities. This definition includes systems that provide information, make decisions, or predict outcomes based on human-set objectives. To qualify, a model must contain at least 1 billion parameters. The framework additionally emphasizes principles related to technological sovereignty, human rights, personal choice, security, and compliance with Russian legislation.
The legislation establishes distinct categories for sovereign and national models. A sovereign model must originate from a Russian legal entity and stay under domestic control, utilizing data centers located within Russia. Developers are required to maintain the technical capacity to reproduce the entire development process, including training and original parameters. A national model adheres to similar ownership and data processing rules but may incorporate foreign components licensed under open licenses.
Domestic models gain official recognition
The government may implement support measures for enterprises involved in creating, deploying, or operating qualifying foundation models. Such measures could include access to state-held data necessary for training. The legislation also authorizes authorities to specify environments where only sovereign or national models are permitted, covering government information systems and other sensitive sectors. Separate laws and presidential decrees might establish rules pertaining to defense, security, public order, and property protection.
Website, application, and social media platform operators will face a new content regulation. Platforms with over 500,000 daily users must provide a tool to mark AI-generated audio or visual content. This rule allows users to attach an information notice to qualifying material. Developers and users will agree on the label format via service agreements. While automatic labeling of every item is not required, platforms must offer the technical capability to do so.
Copyright and implementation details emerge
AI service providers must inform users about ownership rights concerning generated content. They must also clarify access conditions and whether content can be transferred. The bill separately addresses copyrighted materials used for machine learning, considering analysis for extraction, comparison, classification, and pattern detection lawful if developers legally obtained access. Training on protected works is permitted when no technical restrictions were bypassed to access the content.
Most provisions are set to take effect on September 1, 2026, pending presidential approval and publication. Regulations concerning domestic model status, developer responsibilities, content marking, and intellectual property will commence on March 1, 2027. Existing systems will have a transition period until September 1, 2032, during which their data processing and storage must remain within Russia. Until the measure is officially enacted through presidential approval and publication, it remains an approved bill rather than a formal federal law.