President Putin has signed off on legal amendments that threaten to destroy online anonymity, crush free speech, and stifle innovation. Starting this year, internet platforms must verify new users' identities via state-approved systems, before granting access. VPN circumvention advice will constitute a crime, certain Gmail use will be banned, and non-state-approved hosting companies will be rendered illegal.

[...] posting information online that amounts to advice on how to use VPNs, Tor, and similar tools, for circumvention purposes, will be considered a crime. On top, regular hosting providers will be subjected to state registration and new obligations along similar lines to those imposed on VPN providers.

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

not_bob wrote on August 14, 2023 at 12:52 AM

This is not unexpected. How will this play with the use of I2P there?

righttoprivacy wrote on August 14, 2023 at 6:54 AM

This is crazy. Could it be a bad sign of something to come?

Prevention of access to information.

not_bob wrote on August 14, 2023 at 5:27 PM (edited on August 14, 2023 at 5:29 PM)

That's already an issue. Have you watched news out of there? Such a disconnect with reality.

This is an old article, but very related.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/russia-ratchets-up-internet-crackdown-with-block-privacy-service-tor-2021-12-08/

Ever try to sign up for a VPS in that country? Every one of them states in the ELUA that you are not allowed to use Tor.

But, they are not the only country that does this. China is a classic example. But, even places like France do country level blocking of various content.

bows head

righttoprivacy wrote on August 20, 2023 at 2:09 AM

Crooks don' t appreciate (anon) critique