The HeadHunter platform, a leading job search site in Russia, operates alongside regulatory regimes that govern information dissemination. Within the ARI framework, the regulator list published by Roskomnadzor identifies fully registered sites like HeadHunter LLC as of December 5, according to the Roskomsvoboda project. This placement signals heightened obligations for data handling under ARI rules.
Companies listed in the ARI registry bear a legal duty to collect, store, and provide to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation all information about user actions and interactions within the year. In addition, correspondence of Internet users must be retained for six months. These measures aim to support law enforcement activities during investigations and operational searches.
Registry members are required to furnish any requested data to law enforcement during operational search activities. They may also be instructed to assist in decoding electronic messages if additional encryption measures are used by users. Failure to participate in ARI registration can result in fines. For legal entities, voluntary non-participation can bring fines ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 rubles. Refusal to provide information or decoding keys to the FSB can incur penalties from 800,000 to 1,000,000 rubles.
HeadHunter operates in Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Company disclosures indicate approximately 18 million monthly unique visitors, with a database containing more than 61 million potential job seekers and 1,824 thousand active company vacancies published. The platform also includes a messaging feature that allows direct communication between job seekers and employers as part of its recruitment workflow.
Technical Nature of ARI Inclusion
Representatives from HeadHunter indicated in a discussion with a tech publication that joining the ARI registry does not alter the core operations of the service. They described the inclusion as a technical matter that does not affect how the platform functions. All user data collection, storage, and processing are described as being carried out in strict compliance with applicable laws, with internal procedures for handling requests from regulatory authorities clearly laid out. The platform’s built-in messenger is acknowledged as an additional regulatory object, similar to other large IT services.
Registry Count and Participants
Amendments to information access laws were enacted on August 1, 2014. Since then, the ARI registry has grown to include hundreds of items, with a current listing of 348 items. Among the participants are major internet services such as Yandex, VKontakte, Mail.Ru, LiveJournal, Vimeo, BlaBlaCar, 2gis, and others. The registry also includes various regional media outlets such as fontanka.ru, doctorpiter.ru, ulpressa.ru, altapress.ru, sutynews.ru, and tvernews.ru, among others.
In recent months, additional Yandex services like Yandex.Taxi, Yandex.Food, Yandex.Lavka, and Yandex.Micromobility were reported to join the ARI list. There have been enforcement actions impacting other domains as well; for instance, authorities blocked Scryptmail.com after it failed to provide required data for ARI inclusion. Court actions supported these regulatory moves, and reports suggest that the interest from the FSB may relate to tracing potentially false data tied to certain email domains.
These developments illustrate how information access rules intersect with large-scale digital platforms, messaging interfaces, and regional media. The ARI framework is designed to standardize how regulators obtain data, while platforms strive to align with legal obligations and preserve user privacy within the bounds of law. Markers of this ongoing process include public statements from platform representatives, regulatory updates, and court decisions that shape how data requests are managed and fulfilled. Support for consistent regulatory compliance remains a priority for both service providers and governing bodies in the region. [citation: Roskomnadzor regulatory updates, 2014–present; platform statements, 2023–present]