Russian law enforcement agencies are ignoring a federal ban on VPNs and Internet anonymizers
Russia’s ban on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and Internet anonymizers technically took effect on November 1, 2017. In the past three months, however, the Russian authorities have blocked precisely zero VPNs and anonymizers.
What happened to enforcement here?
According to a report by the magazine RBC, Russia’s federal censor, Roskomnadzor, hasn’t received a single takedown order from the Federal Security Service or any other law enforcement agency tasked with identifying websites and services that allow Russians to access banned online content. If these websites and services refuse to cut access to any banned content, the police are supposed to tell Roskomnadzor to order Russian Internet Service Providers to block them, as well.
Meduza survived 2024 thanks to its readers!
Let’s stick together for 2025.
The world is at a crossroads today, and quality journalism will help shape the decades to come. Real stories must be told at any cost. Please support Meduza by signing up for a recurring donation.