Russia’s internet regulator bans site that tracks which VPNs still work in the country

Source: blockedin.org

Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, has added the “VPN Traffic Light” project to its registry of banned websites. The decision was made on April 6, and blocking began on April 9, according to the website blockedin.org.

The service was launched on March 18 by blogger and politician Maxim Katz to track which VPN services were still working in Russia. Katz described it as a nonprofit effort in which “volunteers in Moscow with no special technical skills” test the services. He said the method was simple: “They just turn them on and see if they work.”

Russian authorities have stepped up their crackdown on VPN services in recent weeks. The Digital Development Ministry urged internet providers to charge customers extra for traffic generated through VPNs, and ordered major online platforms to block users with VPNs enabled by April 15.

The push against VPNs has intensified following the blocking of Telegram and WhatsApp, the two most widely used messaging apps in Russia.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Why is it
important
to support
Meduza
now?Read here

Russia’s internet regulator bans site that tracks which VPNs still work in the country

{{ header_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{#is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}{{^is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ second_title }}

Russia’s internet regulator bans site that tracks which VPNs still work in the country

{{{ alt }}}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{#is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}{{^is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ second_title }}