Russia’s government services portal has asked people to stop using Gmail. Is the Kremlin planning to block the email provider?
What happened?
This week, Russia’s Gosuslugi Federal State Information System sent a message to users with accounts linked to Gmail addresses asking them to start using “any other” email service instead. The warning included links for users to transfer their entire Gmail mailboxes to addresses from Mail.ru or the Russian social media service Vkontakte.
Why? Are the Russian authorities planning to block Gmail?
We don’t know. The Russian authorities haven’t officially announced a block of Gmail (though they also haven’t officially acknowledged their throttling of YouTube, either). Their official reason for urging against Gmail is Google’s alleged suspension of SMS confirmations inside Russia:
The company Google recently restricted the use of SMS confirmations for creating new accounts. We cannot guarantee that this function will continue working for accounts that have already been created. Protect your account.
The Russian Digital Development Ministry has expressed similar concerns: “SMS confirmations as a second authorization factor for previously created accounts are currently still working, but there’s no certainty that this option will remain available.”
There are currently no confirmed reports of users with Gmail addresses actually encountering problems when trying to log in to their accounts with SMS codes.
What can Russian users do if the government does block Gmail?
If the Russian authorities block Gmail, users in the country will have to use a VPN to log in to their accounts.
At the same time, Russian companies and government agencies could stop sending messages to emails ending in @gmail.com altogether. If this happens, Gosuslugi will likely not just recommend but require users to stop having Gmail addresses linked to their accounts (which would also affect Russian citizens abroad).
For Russian citizens who decide to stop using Gmail to access the Gosuslugi portal, we strongly advise against switching to a Russian email service, as these services are legally required to install special SORM (System for Operative Investigative Activities) equipment to grant the Federal Security Service (FSB) access to your communications.