Russia to Restrict 'Circumvented Access' to Social Media Platforms like Instagram

Russia plans to restrict virtual private networks (VPNs) to block its citizens from using various social media platforms, local media reported on the 4th (local time).

Artyom Sheikin, a senator from the ruling United Russia party, announced that from March 1 next year, the Russian communications regulatory authority, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), will block VPNs.

Sheikin, vice chairman of the Senate's Digital Economy Development Committee, said, "From March 1 next year, an order to block VPN services that allow access to banned sites in Russia will be enforced."

The "banned sites" mentioned here refer to American Meta platforms that own social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The Russian government already blocked access to Western social media in February last year, citing the spread of "fake news" during the war with Ukraine. However, Russia's younger generation has continued to use social media through VPN circumvention.

VPN analytics firm Top10VPN also revealed that demand for VPNs increased by 2692% immediately after Russia banned Instagram in March last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.