Russia to ban all VPNs – again – says senator

From theregister.com

Russia intends to prohibit VPNs being offered in the nation’s app stores starting in 2024.

A Tuesday report in local outlet RIA quotes senator Artem Sheikin as saying that Russia’s telecoms regulator, Roskomnadzor, will block any VPNs that allow access to banned material.

The senator said the ban’s intent is to stop Russians getting access to all inappropriate material – but especially social networks operated by Meta, as Russia regards Zuck’s biz as an extremist organization.

The report suggests that Roskomnadzor will intervene to stop VPNs from reaching resources banned within Russian borders.

Which sounds like a big win for Vladimir Putin’s regime of pervasive censorship – save for the fact that he’s been trying to crack down on VPNs for years with precious little success.

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