- Mobile internet has been limited in Moscow, St. Petersburg since March 5
- The Kremlin also announced plans to block Telegram and VPNs
- An independent media outlet was punished for advertising VPNs
Internet freedom in Russia appears to be rapidly deteriorating.
Residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg has reported extensive disruptions to their mobile internet connections for almost a full week. Public Wi-Fi hotspots have also been disabled, with many analysts concerned that the restrictions could act as a precursor to the introduction of a ‘whitelist’ of allowed apps and websites.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities have said that Telegram – which has an estimated 95 million users in the country – will soon be inaccessible even with a VPN.
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Government official Andrey Svintsov claimed that the country’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, now has the technical capacity to selectively restrict VPN traffic. The BBC has reported that the measures are expected to be introduced within the next three to six months.
Finally, an independent media outlet is facing a lawsuit for allegedly advertising a VPN on Telegram. Although a 2024 law banned the distribution of information about censorship circumvention tools, this is reportedly the first time an independent publication has been penalized under the law.
Towards a ‘whitelist’ system?
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said the internet blackouts are measures to “ensure the safety of our citizens.” However, there is growing concern among digital rights groups that the disruptions are linked to the introduction of a whitelisting system.
The system would mean Russians could only access government-approved websites and platforms. Such an approach – as has been the case since in Iran – would likely make access to VPNs considerably more difficult.
“Only VPN tunnels pre-approved by government authorities will continue to operate,” Mazay Banzaev, the founder of Russia-based Amnezia VPN, told TechRadar in an interview earlier this year.
For now, it appears the Russians are planning for the disruption to continue, with sales of walkie-talkies, pagers and road atlases in Moscow reportedly increasing by 27%, 73% and 170% respectively as residents seek reliable offline communications.
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