Some sites have started removing information about VPN services
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In anticipation of the ban on “popularizing VPNs,” which comes into force on March 1, some sites have already begun removing information about such services or network settings. Portals are introducing automated systems and new content moderation rules. Kommersant’s sources claim that for large sites the share of search traffic for articles about VPN is insignificant. Lawyers consider the preliminary preparation of Internet resources to be justified: the risks of blocking are unpredictable, and failure to remove prohibited materials can result in a fine of up to 4 million rubles.
“Kommersant” discovered that some sites, such as the technical forum 4PDA and the corporate media Skillfactory, deleted information about VPNs, including instructions for setting up a network or selections of services for bypassing blocking.
From March 1, a ban on the popularization of VPN services and the publication of information on ways to bypass blocking will come into force in the Russian Federation. Such information will be blocked.
The editor-in-chief of SecurityLab (owned by Positive Technologies), Alexander Antipov, told Kommersant that some materials about VPN have also already been edited or deleted on the portal: “Our goal is to continue to inform readers about important aspects of information security, complying with all legal requirements.” He clarified that moderation of user content on the portal after March 1 will be based on “strict editorial policies and enhanced pre-moderation measures.” “We have introduced automated systems for checking content for compliance with the new rules,” explained Mr. Antipov.
VPN is a technology that allows you to combine devices remote from each other into one private network. VPN is often positioned as a way to bypass blocks. But organizations set up VPNs to connect computers, phones, ATMs, etc., located in different locations or regions.
The VPN technology itself and its use are not prohibited in Russia. At the same time, companies providing VPN services in the country have been required to block sites banned in the Russian Federation since 2017. In 2021, Roskomnadzor blocked a number of services, including NordVPN, for non-compliance with requirements. TASS in October 2023, with reference to the director of the Center for Monitoring and Management of the Public Communications Network, subordinate to Roskomnadzor, Sergei Khutortsev, wrote that since 2021, 167 VPN services and 84 applications have been blocked in Russia. In September 2023, against the backdrop of proposals from the Ministry of Digital Development to block pages with ways to bypass Internet restrictions, some sites removed instructions for setting up access to the network using VPN providers (see “Kommersant” dated September 13, 2023).
On other sites, such as Cyberforum, VC and Habr, data about the VPN or network settings remains. Skillfactory and Habré declined to comment. Pikabu, w3bsit3-dns.com, Cyberforum did not respond to requests. VK told Kommersant that they will continue to “comply with the requirements of the law.”
The VPN topic forms a large semantic core (that is, a set of key phrases with a common context), and search queries for it bring a significant amount of traffic, notes SmartSEO director Sergey Koshkin. However, in the case of large content sites, it is impossible to say that search traffic to articles about VPN takes up a significant share, he clarifies: “If their administrators decide to remove such pages, a comparable amount of traffic can be obtained from materials on other topics.”
“There are various reasons to block a VPN or information about it: on the initiative of Roskomnadzor, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, by a court decision. This can be done through entry into the public register or through the TSPU,” explains Ekaterina Abashina, lawyer of the Moscow CCA “DBA and Partners”. According to her, if sites refuse to delete information about VPN, they risk being blocked or fined up to 4 million rubles.
“Completely forgetting about VPN content or trying to look for an acceptable format for such articles is a choice that site owners will have to make,” the lawyer believes. “Only one clear conclusion can be drawn from the existing practice of blocking VPN services and related information “The presence of specific norms, rules, and criteria at first glance does not make blocking on this topic predictable.”
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