Authorities in Charge of the Telecommunications Sphere in Russia and Abroad: a Comparative Analysis

Telecommunications and mass communications have been becoming an increasingly important since information technologies have been on the rise. As a result, a question arose on the way these should be regulated. This Project is aimed to inquire into the role Roscomnadzor (Russia) and the Federal Communications Commission (the USA) play in this type of regulation. We determine the place they take in the executive (as scrutinizers, controllers, regulators, licensors) branch and among other branches (since the Federal Communications Commission is also entitled to resolve disputes and write regulations). We also describe the way they are organized and formed (one-man or collective decision-making, requirements of public servants’ behaviour, internal subdivision and the underlying concept of it). Besides, we outline their remit and functions in general (briefly) and with regard to the telecommunications and mass communications sphere in the form they took due to the rapid growth of information technologies. We also underline the trend to widen the remit and to number up the functions, which may be more eminent in one case and more controversial due to occasional outer resistance. We analyse as well the outcomes of their activities in the researched field and try to explain why they took the form that we see today. The issue of in-branch and inter-branch coordination is also taken into account, including the relationship between the Roscomnnadzor and the Ministry of Communications, and the allocation of remit among other public authorities concerned with similar problems, which is especially relevant for the Federal Communications Commission. We also check how serious and efficient has outer control been, including courts and the Congress. To achieve these goals, we analyse the legislation, the regulations, the case law and the doctrines in both States using various methods (analysis, synthesis, deduction and induction, systematic, statistical, structural or functional, comparative and legalistic ones).