At a meeting on March 30, the Ministry of Digital Development asked the largest Russian Internet platforms (Sber, Yandex, VK, Wildberries, Ozon, and others) to restrict access to users with VPN enabled. According to TASS and RBC, the deadline is April 15. Companies were threatened with exclusion from white lists, revocation of IT accreditation, and a ban on pre-installing software for non-compliance.
Platforms will receive lists of VPN IP addresses from Roskomnadzor and guidelines for independently identifying new circumvention servers. There is no technical way to reliably distinguish a corporate VPN from a prohibited one, which creates a risk of mass false blocking of legitimate traffic.
Natalia Kasperskaya, President of InfoWatch Group, called the initiative "fighting the lymphatic system of the Internet." According to her, it is technically impossible to block VPN without disrupting the entire network. The Russian public sector alone purchased VPNs for 20 billion rubles last year.
Minister Shadaev stated in a chat room for IT specialists that blocking VPNs is a forced measure to avoid introducing administrative penalties for using this technology.
The agenda of the State Duma on April 31 did not include the topic of a complete ban on VPN and the introduction of liability for its use, RBC was told by Alexander Yushchenko, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications.