‘Trying to use internet as a private fiefdom’: Ex-Russian President Medvedev SLAMS US authorities for web manipulation

Washington is attempting to leverage the internet exclusively to its advantage, according to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now Deputy Chairman of the national Security Council. He says the strategy is “deplorable.”

Speaking on Wednesday, Medvedev, who also served as Russian prime minister, said the pressure the White House placed on the owners of the social network WeChat (Chinese Internet giant Tencent) was a prime example of the US exploiting the internet as its own private tool. 

He added that Washington aims to continue pursuing its policy of viewing the web only through the prism of its own national interests, and disregarding any rules.

“Not surprisingly, a number of countries, primarily the US, are seeking to use the Internet as their fiefdom and as a tool to ensure their interests are met exclusively,” he said, recalling that the US also controls the major system of domain names and IP addresses. “Simply and directly put, it shouldn’t be like that.”

Medvedev feels that the pressure currently being exerted on China by the US is something that Russian web companies could also face. “This behavior of the US and some of their partners proves that neither internet users nor businesses nor states can be sure that their interests will be duly protected in these conditions,” he said.

Several years ago, “the US discussed an idea of disconnecting Russia from the payment verification system, that is, from the SWIFT system. It is now China that is experiencing such fairly serious, tough pressure,” Medvedev continued. “A portion of these sanctions and methods of exerting pressure pertain to the Internet."

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