Russia has blocked access to the most popular VPN services

The authorities say they want to prevent access to illegal content, but parliamentary elections are in sight and they want to silence dissent online

(Photo by Thierry Chesnot / Getty Images) Russia still against VPNs . The Russian federal agency responsible for the supervision of communications, Roskomnadzor, has recently blocked access to six Virtual private network (Vpn) services, among the most used by users to locate themselves in other parts of the world and protect the traffic of incoming and outgoing data. The news comes from Roskomnadzor herself who in a note made it known that she had suspended the possibility of using Vpn as Hola! Vpn, ExpressVpn, KeepSolid Vpn Unlimited, Nord Vpn, Speedify Vpn and IPVanish Vpn.

The Russian agency motivated the decision by explaining that using these services, users can view child pornography content or buy drugs online. But it is clear that the intent is another. VPNs, which have seen their use increase recently, allow internet users to have a greater level of anonymity on the net, thus removing them from Moscow's control over the network.

Tech.co reminds you that VPNs are not strictly illegal in Russia, but must be approved by the state, and suggests that those blocked may have refused to abide by the Russian government's stringent rules. One in particular, NordVpn, had previously explicitly refused to collaborate with the Moscow authorities.

The government dictates which sites users can and cannot access, as well as supervising users who use VPNs and on what they are doing. It is for this reason that many VPN providers stopped offering their services in 2019.

Bloomberg notes that this recent blockade comes as the country prepares for parliamentary elections later this month. Russia has also recently accused Google and Apple of electoral interference for their refusal to remove an app published by Vladimir Putin’s opponent, now in prison, Alexei Navalny.

Russia has already taken a number of steps to increase its control over the internet in recent years, including controversial laws requiring companies to store Russian user data on servers located in the country. It also imposed several fines on social media giants for failing to remove content that authorities say would violate local laws. Among these, for example, are messages that, according to Mosca, encourage minors to participate in unauthorized protests. This is why Telegram itself, launched in 2013 by Russian developer Pavel Durov, has been in the sights for some time.


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Topics

Cybersecurity Internet Privacy Russia globalData.fldTopic = "Cybersecurity , Internet, Privacy, Russia "

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