Russia goes after VPNs as 'great crackdown' gathers pace
Russian authorities plan fines and fees for VPN use and international data, aiming to enforce control amid rising censorship; over 400 VPNs were blocked by mid-January, Kommersant reported.
- On Monday, Digital Minister Maksut Shadayev confirmed plans to restrict VPNs and foreign platforms, aiming to reduce usage among millions of Russians while minimizing impact on users.
- Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia implemented repressive censorship laws and bolstered Federal Security Service influence, escalating measures including blocking WhatsApp and jamming mobile internet in Moscow.
- Shadayev met with telecom and tech companies including Yandex and VK on Saturday to discuss potential fees for VPN users, though consultant Alexey Lukatsky cautioned that identification technology lacks "100% accuracy."
- Authorities may impose "administrative liability for the use of tools to bypass blocking," yet the situation remains a "game of cat and mouse" as users rapidly switch to new VPNs.
- New restrictions on foreign platforms and VPNs may begin May 1, affecting services like Facebook and Instagram and effectively creating a "sovereign" Russian internet separate from the global network.
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Kremlin’s plan to ban VPN sparks backlash from pro-war Russian patriots
The Kremlin’s move to ban VPN technology in Russia has sparked outrage - even among the country’s most loyal Z-patriots. The next step in Russia’s tightening internet censorship is a planned ban on VPN, or virtual private network, technology. The news has prompted a wave of discontent among Russians, including vocal voices within the Russian patriot ranks. Plans to ban VPNs were reported by several pro-Kremlin outlets, including RBC, Kommersant,…
Russia's Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev announced on Monday that the government will crack down on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), a tool that Russians have increasingly used in recent years to circumvent online surveillance and censorship, The Moscow Times reported.
After the complete blocking of WhatsApp and about to do the same with Telegram, Russia is stepping up the fight against VPN networks, the main means used massively by Russians to circumvent controls and internet censorship.Keep reading...
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