John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 03.22.2022 01:Mar AM EDT

More VPNs Blocked as Russia Strengthens Digital Iron Curtain

The Russian government wants to deny its citizens access to virtual private networks (VPNs).

In fact, it is forcing Alphabet, Inc.'s Google to delist URLs connected to VPNs to prevent from accessing government-blocked sites since its conflict with Ukraine began on February 24, according to a Forbes article.

According to Surfshark's report on the matter, while the use of a VPN as a tool hasn't been banned yet, individual VPN providers are already getting banned in Russia.

The Gamer mentioned in its article that Russian authorities had blocked over 36,000 VPN-related sites in the past month.

VPN Sales Increase in Russia

Surfshark's report mentioned that the Russian government had blocked websites that could spread dissent among its citizens and stop inconvenient information from coming into the country. These websites include the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC), Facebook, Twitter, Deutsche Welle, Instagram, and TikTok.

As more and more websites are getting banned by the Russian government, Russian citizens are turning to VPN providers to access content banned in the country. According to a Tech Radar report, VPN provider Surfshark saw a 3,500% increase in sales compared to before February 24.

The rapid surge of downloads means that Russians are actively looking for ways to avoid government surveillance and censorship said Surfshark spokesperson Gabriele Racaityte.

Mobile analytics company Apptopia also saw the surge of VPN downloads in Russia, noting more than 400,000 Russians a day are downloading one of the top five VPN apps.

Apple and Google should not shut these people off from the outside world," said Apptopia Vice president Adam Blacker on Twitter. "They need information."

In the Making Since 2017

Russia's requests are considered legal due to a couple of laws that were recently signed into law in the past.

In 2017, the Russian government passed 276-FZ, commonly known as the VPN law, which restricts the use of anonymous servers and VPNs, per WizCase. According to the law, VPNs in Russia will have to alter their protocol to comply with Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media to stay active in the country.

The law also dictates that VPNs cannot assist users with gaining access to Russia's blacklist of banned websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Famous whistleblower Edward Snowden condemned the creation of the law, saying that the banning of "unauthorized" use of basic internet security tools makes Russia less safe and less free.

"This is a tragedy of policy," Snowden added.

The country also has a Fake News law that punishes people who share false information about the country and its military with up to 15 years of imprisonment, along with the "harshest sentences" for fake news that can cause "serious consequences," per a previous iTech Post report.

All of these laws suggest that Russia is preparing to disconnect itself from the global internet, which is an idea made concrete by a letter from Russian deputy digital minister Andrei Chernenko suggesting that the country is preparing to do just that, per Fortune.