Russian Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev said On Monday the government will begin banning the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs, a common tool that Russians have been turning to in recent years for online surveillance and monitoring.
“We have the responsibility to fulfill the tasks set before us. In this case, the task is to reduce the use of VPNs,” Shadayev said in an interview with IT experts through the state-sponsored ambassador Max.
Shadayev linked the move to what he described as long, difficult and unsuccessful negotiations with foreign companies over compliance with Russian laws, which require firms to maintain a presence in the country.
His comments came next reports suggested that President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Ministry of Digital Development to explore new ways to limit VPN use.
According to those reports, Shadayev asked mobile network operators to charge customers more than 15 gigabytes of international data traffic per month starting May 1.
Because VPNs work by routing the user’s internet connection through servers outside of Russia, thereby allowing them to appear as if they are browsing from abroad and access blocked websites, that type of action will make the VPN very expensive.
In addition, Shadayev reportedly told Russian technology companies such as Yandex and Wildberries to block access to their platforms if they detect that a user is connected to a VPN.
The minister on Monday publicly acknowledged that the proposed penalties for VPN use had “caused strong reactions,” but defended them as a “difficult compromise.”
“We understand all the consequences, but all other options are very bad,” Shadayev said.
He added that the authorities have discussed the possibility of making VPN use a crime based on administrative penalties, but he dismissed that as “a stupid solution that we don’t like very much.”
Demonstrations of VPNs became widespread in Russia after authorities began blocking Western media platforms and many independent Russian publications following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The authorities in 2023 started a campaign to warn public about what they say are the dangers of using VPN services. Observers said the campaign was aimed at stifling free speech and limiting access to independent news sources.
The proposed restrictions on VPNs follow months of nationwide mobile network disruptions and government-imposed shutdowns of popular messaging services WhatsApp and Telegram.
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