Ministry of Digital Development: in Russia only VPN services that pose a threat will be blocked

In Russia, specific VPN services will be blocked that an expert commission determines as threatening the functioning of the Internet, the Ministry of Digital Development reported in response to an appeal from the New People party. Document There is at the disposal of RIA Novosti.

“Based on the decision of the expert commission provided for in paragraph 10 of the rules, specific VPN services and VPN protocols on the mobile communication network for foreign traffic that are identified as a threat can be filtered,” the agency quotes the ministry’s response.

The document also notes that, according to the government decree, the difficulty of restricting access to information prohibited by law is considered a threat to the functioning of the Internet.

On October 3, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Development, Artem Sheikin, said that Roskomnadzor will be able to block all VPN services in app stores from March 1, 2024.

A representative of Roskomnadzor explained to Vedomosti that the agency will have the right to independently make decisions on blocking services that disseminate information about methods of bypassing blocking of content prohibited in Russia. Now this right is reserved for the Prosecutor General’s Office and the courts.

Since 2021, almost 170 VPN services have been blocked in Russia, reported at the end of October, the Center for Monitoring and Control of the Public Communications Network (TsMU SSOP, subordinate to Roskomnadzor). The agency blocked 167 services and 84 applications, and in 2023, access was limited to more than 2,000 phishing sites and more than 20 control and distribution centers for malicious software (software), the representative office added.