Roskomnadzor can block VPN services in app stores from March 1

Roskomnadzor can block in app stores all VPN services that provide access to prohibited sites from March 1, 2024. Federal media quote the words of Artem Sheikin, a Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building member.

“The RKN is already legislatively endowed with the right to block such services, which happens regularly. Probably, we are talking about a completely different legislative innovation: limiting the search results of those VPNs that violate the law (do not filter prohibited information). This order is in pursuance of the law we have adopted. Roskomnadzor is preparing,” explains Alexander Khinshtein, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, in his TG channel.

Also today, Sheikin told TASS that he sent the head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, Maksut Shadayev, a proposal to limit the download of VPN services to the RuStore application store in case of non-compliance with Russian legislation regarding failure to provide access to the register of prohibited information. There are no plans to introduce penalties for Russian citizens using VPN services.