Reporters Without Borders and nine international human rights NGOs called on Vladimir Putin not to sign the 'sovereign internet' bill into law because it would take Russia across a major threshold in online censorship. The law the Russian parliament approved on 22 April, which Putin is poised to sign, would take Russia closer to the Chinese model of online censorship. It would establish a 'sovereign' internet, independent of the international internet and closely controlled by the Kremlin. Internet service providers would have to direct traffic through a centralised system of devices controlled by Russia, with approved internet exchange points, and to use a national domain name system that would facilitate surveillance and, in the event of unspecified 'security threats’ would allow the authorities to block traffic between Russia and the rest of the World Wide Web partially or fully, and within Russia.