It is reported that the Russian Government holds a 38% stake in Rostelecom, a major telecommunications company and one of the largest operators in Russia and Eastern Europe. Rostelecom provides extensive services such as fixed-line telecommunications, broadband internet, digital television, and mobile services, alongside IT solutions, cloud services, and data centre operations. As a state-owned enterprise, Rostelecom plays a crucial role in shaping Russia's telecommunications infrastructure and digital economy.

Russia lacks rules for functional separations for operators with significant market power, although there are rules in place for accounting separation. Under Ministry for Digital Development, Connection, and Mass Communications Order 54, dated May 2006, operators that hold substantial positions in publicly available networks and operators of universal services and natural telecoms monopolies must keep separate accounts for different types of activity; provided services; and different sections of the telecoms network used for the provision of such services. In addition, Russian competition laws also provide for forced separation as a last resort measure that may be implemented by a court at the request of antitrust authorities with respect to a dominant market player that systematically abuses its dominant position.

In 2017, the Russian State Commission for Radio Frequencies issued a decision requiring telecommunications operators seeking to rent capacity from a foreign satellite operator to demonstrate that Russian satellite providers do not have such capacity.

Russia has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Russia has a telecommunications authority: The Federal Communications Agency. However, it is reported that the decision-making process of this entity is not fully independent from the government.

Art. 18.5 of Federal Law No. 152-FZ provides that during personal data collection, including through the Internet, the data operator shall ensure that databases located within the Russian Federation are used to record, systematise, accumulate, store, update, modify and retrieve personal data of Russian citizens. However, the requirements do not apply to companies that do not receive the data directly from either data subjects or such third parties or inadvertently in the course of normal business activity. Moreover, provided that personal data, when initially collected, is placed in a primary database located and maintained in Russia, personal data contained in the database may then be transferred abroad and placed in other secondary databases, provided the requirements for data transfers are complied with. As a result, once personal data is collected, it shall be placed in the database located in Russia (i.e., the primary database). All mentioned operations on the data should be carried out locally. Afterwards, the data can be transferred abroad for further processing (i.e., to the secondary database).
It is reported that since 2015, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) has been active in enforcing the above-mentioned measure. For instance, in November 2016, subject to the claim from Roskomnadzor, the court in Moscow restricted access to the LinkedIn social network due to the breach of the measure. Further cases mostly included administrative fines, which were also issued to major multinational companies, including Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook, Inc.), Twitter, Inc. and later WhatsApp LLC, Google LLC, Airbnb, Inc., Apple, Inc., Twitch Interactive, Inc., United Parcel Service, Inc., Pinterest, Inc., Likeme Pte. Ltd., Ookla, LLC., Snap Inc., Match Group, LLC, Hotels.com, L.P., Spotify AB, and Zoom Video Communications, Inc. Some companies also faced repeated higher fines.
The Code of Administrative Offences establishes fines of up to RUB 6 million (approx. USD 64,620) for the first offence and up to RUB 18 million (approx. USD 193,860) for the subsequent offence.

Art. 30.6.4 of Federal Law No. 161-FZ requires that foreign-based credit card companies transmit data for all transactions within Russia through state-owned operators: the National System of Payment Cards. It is reported that this affects the possibility for financial supplies to use their processing facilities located outside of Russia.

Russia has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Russia has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Federal Law No. 374 allows Russian security services to request that internet companies hand over their encryption keys. Firms who do not comply with these orders risk having their services blocked in the country, as happened to the messaging app Telegram, which remained blocked in Russia for approximately 2 years. Other messaging apps, such as Zello, BlackBerry Messenger, Imo, Line, and Vchat, were blocked for the same reason.

Federal Law of July 29, 2004, on Commercial Secrecy and Russian Civil Code provide a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets. The Civil Code (Part 4) regulates issues associated with trade secrets. Any unlawful use of a trade secret, including unlawful receipt or disclosure of the trade secret, constitutes trade secret infringement. Additionally, the Federal Law of July 29, 2004, on Commercial Secrecy defines trade secrets as any type of information (e.g. production, technological, economic, organisational, etc.) that is not generally known to which the general public does not have open access, and with respect to which the owner of such information has instituted the regime of trade secrecy.

Russia is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2013.

Under Art. 2 of Federal Law No. 57, foreign states, international organisations, and entities under their control — including those established in Russia — are prohibited from entering into transactions that would grant them a majority interest in business entities deemed strategically important for national defence and state security. Consequently, foreign state-controlled investors are restricted from acquiring more than 50% of shares or majority voting rights in such companies.
According to Art. 6 of the law business strategically important for national defence and state security include those involved in the development and production of encryption tools, maintenance of cryptographic systems, and provision of encryption services, as well as activities such as detecting covert information-gathering devices.

The Law on Mass Media, initially enacted in 1991 and subsequently amended multiple times, underwent significant revisions in January 2016 concerning foreign ownership regulations. According to Art. 19-1, foreign entities such as foreign states, international organisations, entities under their control, foreign legal entities, Russian legal entities with foreign participation, foreign citizens, stateless persons, and Russian citizens holding dual citizenship are prohibited from acting as founders or participants of mass media organisations, editorial offices of mass media, or entities engaged in broadcasting. Additionally, Art. 19-1 prohibits direct or indirect possession, management, or control by the aforementioned foreign entities or individuals of more than 20% of shares in the authorised capital of entities involved in mass media or broadcasting activities. This has led to large-scale redistribution of property in the media market and the departure from Russia of a number of major international publishers (e.g. Finnish Sanoma, Axel Springer, the German, the American Dow Jones and FT Group). Other foreign shareholders in the Russian media either reduced their stakes in Russian media or re-registered their ownership in the Russian jurisdiction.

According to Art. 6 of Federal Law No. 160-FZ (amended in 2017), transactions involving Russian business entities by foreign investors require prior approval under Art. 57 of Federal Law No. 57 on "Procedures for Foreign Investments in Companies Having Strategic Importance for National Security and Defence". This law aims to safeguard national defence and security interests. Following the 2017 amendments, the Government Commission for Control over Foreign Investments, as outlined in Art. 12 of Federal Law No. 57, has the authority to impose additional conditions on foreign investors seeking approval for transactions deemed critical to protect national defence and state security.