Comment on Russia starts blocking VPN at the protocol (WireGuard, OpenVPN) level

avater@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

• gapbetweenus@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  But also laws don’t really matter in Russia.

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  • avater@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    well 😅

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• Axiochus@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  I’d appreciate a source for that statement. :o

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  • avater@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    In November 2017, the Russian government passed a law banning the use of VPNs, Tor, and proxies to access unauthorized content. Since that time, it has been used to restrict specific VPN services.

    The ban targets VPN providers who refuse to submit data to the Russian government. The threat of bans came in 2019. Two waves of bans followed in 2021, covering 15 VPNs. Only one Russia-based provider is known to have complied with the rules.

    surfshark.com/blog/vpn-in-russia

    reuters.com/…/us-russia-internet-idUSKBN1AF0QI

    www.bbc.com/news/technology-41829726.amp

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    • Axiochus@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      I see! So, to quote the sources you provided:

      “Despite widespread speculation, the law does not directly ban the operation of VPNs and anonymisers. However, it does restrict access to banned websites with the help of these tools.”

      I.e. the VPN providers themselves are not illegal, though the VPN providers technically have to not allow users to access content listed by rospotrebnadzor. That’s responsibility on the side of the providers, not a ban on use. Practically speaking it still is attempting to censor content, but neither of the three sources claim that VPN use is illegal in Russia.

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      • avater@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        You can argue as much as you want, but the full usage of a vpn is illegal in russia by law, because you could access real informations instead of their bullshit propaganda.

        And they are now actively blocking protocols…so 🤷‍♂️

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    • redcalcium@lemmy.institute ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      IIRC Pakistan also do this (vpn is blocked by defauld and you’ll need to submit documentation to justify using VPN if you want to use VPN in your company), though their main reason is to reduce VoIP spammers.

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      • tal@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        It has got to be easier to just make phone authentication better than to hope that nobody in the country is going to spam and then block people on the outside.

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• a_spooky_specter@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  This is not accurate information. VPN usage is not banned.

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• Ildar@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Using is not illegal

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  • avater@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    if you want to use it in its original purpose it’s illegal. If you use a von not registered with Roskomnadzor, it’s illegal because you can access stuff that putin does not want you to see.

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    • Ildar@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      Illegal to show how bypass bans, it is allowed to use VPNs

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