Russia recently proposed new legislation that could result in the country having its own internet. In light of this, Russian authorities have now asked 10 VPNto restrict access to websites banned by the country's laws.
The announcement issued by Roskomnadzor, Russia's federal communications watchdog, says the government will block VPN providers from accessing the internet if they fail to block censored websites.
Companies have been given a 30-day grace period to comply with the regulations.
Among the popular VPN companies that have taken on the responsibility of blocking censored sites are NordVPN, ExpressVPN, VyprVPN, TorGuard, IPVanish, and Hide My Ass.
Roskomnadzor has asked VPN companies to join the state IT system, which contains a list of blocked websites.
VPN services have responded to the Russian government’s orders in a variety of ways. Golden Frog, the company behind VyprVPN, told PCMag that it would not comply with the orders. “Our core mission is to keep the internet open and free, so VyprVPN will continue to provide unfettered access to the internet,” Golden Frog’s CEO said.
TorGuard, another popular VPN, has published a blog post announcing that it has removed all Russian servers. “If we feel that the legal climate in a country could pose a threat to the online safety of our customers, then we will no longer offer servers in that country,” TorGuard’s post states.
Russia is trying to isolate the internet from the rest of the world and is imposing censorship to achieve this.
