Russia's Version Of Facebook, VKontakte, Offers Ed Snowden A Job In Data Protection

from the he's-qualified dept

Well this is marginally amusing. Now that Ed Snowden is actually in Russia, apparently a bunch of job offers are flowing in -- including from the somewhat controversial massive social network VKontatke, often called "Russia's Facebook," which is apparently hoping that Snowden might help with data protection, especially as the Russian government is looking to have more access and control over VKontatke (which many in the entertainment industry also insist is a major source for infringing content).

One place that had made an offer, [Snowden's lawyer Anatoly] Kucherena added, was VKontakte, Russia's Facebook rip-off, which also gives users access to a massive trove of pirated music, TV shows, and movies. Pavel Durov, VKontakte's founder, has been fighting off official pressure—prosecutorial summons, searches—in part because the internet wilds of VKontakte are one of the last bastions of freedom in Russia, and the opposition does a lot of its organizing through VKontakte, which is Russia's largest social network. In the last year or so, the government wanted to muscle in, and get a share of the company in order to exercise some control over it. So far, Durov has fought them off effectively, including today's court decision not to charge VKontakte under a new anti-piracy law. How's that for irony?

Who knows what will happen, but imagine Snowden helping to secure Russia's main social network from further government intrusion...

Filed Under: data protection, ed snowden, russia, social media, social network, surveillance
Companies: vkontatke