Russia says it won’t tax VPN traffic after all

Source: Meduza

Russia’s Digital Development Ministry confirmed that it will not introduce fees for international internet traffic, including VPN traffic. Deputy Minister Ivan Lebedev announced the decision at a session of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament.

“Fees for foreign traffic are not being considered,” Lebedev said, responding to a question from Oleg Smolin, a lawmaker from the Communist Party (KPRF) faction, about whether such charges might be introduced.

In late March, at a meeting with telecom operators and digital platforms, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev asked them to take steps against the use of VPN services. Among the measures discussed, according to reports, was a plan to charge users for consuming more than 15 gigabytes of international traffic per month. Carriers treat VPN traffic as international.

According to the BBC’s Russian service, authorities want to require Russians to pay roughly 150 rubles for each additional gigabyte of mobile VPN traffic. The new measures were originally set to take effect by May 1. The Russian business daily Vedomosti reported that some Russian carriers would not be ready to configure their systems and tariffs by the start of May, and the deadline was later pushed to June 1.

RBC’s sources said the deadline for the additional fee on international mobile traffic would be moved to “closer to fall” or “after the State Duma elections.” The vote is scheduled for September 18–20.

Demand for VPNs in Russia has surged amid the blocking of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram. In response, Russian authorities have stepped up their fight against efforts to bypass the blocks. By mid-April, at the authorities’ request, major Russian internet platforms had restricted the ability to use their sites and apps with a VPN enabled.

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.

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Russia says it won’t tax VPN traffic after all

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Russia says it won’t tax VPN traffic after all

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