Russia seeks VPN and Tor ban


Kyle Ellison reports on the WeLiveSecurity website that Russian authorities have indicated that VPNs and the online anonymising software Tor, could be banned for the country’s 143.5 million residents.

Speaking on 5th February, Leonid Levin, the head of the Duma Committee on Information Policy, said:

One of the factors in the formation of the Internet environment in our country has become the authority for the pre-trial blocking of websites. It allows us to block sites banned in Russia quickly enough. At the same time the pre-trial blocking of anonymising services deserves attention, such as access to the anonymous network Tor.”

Shortly after Levin’s speech, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor came out in support of the Tor and VPN ban.