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Russia Bans VPNs and Tor, Effective November 1

posted by martyb on Monday July 31 2017, @09:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the someone's-watching-you dept.

takyon writes:

Russia has banned VPNs capable of circumventing website blocking, and will require users of chat apps to have a phone number associated with their accounts:

Vladimir Putin has banned virtual private networks (VPNs) and Tor in a crackdown on apps that allow access to websites prohibited in Russia. The law, signed by Mr Putin, was passed by Russia's parliament last week and will now come into force on 1 November. A second law to ban anonymous use of online messaging services will take effect on 1 January next year.

It would make it easier for the state to snoop on citizens' browsing habits, one internet security expert suggested.

The laws signed by Mr Putin are meant only to block access to "unlawful content" and not target law-abiding web users, the head of the lower house of parliament said, according to the RIA news agency.

One feature of the second law is the provision to require internet operators to restrict users' access if they are found to be distributing illegal content.

Also at Engadget, ZDNet, RT, TechCrunch, and CNET.

Related: Apple Capitulates, Removes Unlicensed VPN Apps From China App Store

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by zocalo on Monday July 31 2017, @11:46PM

    by zocalo (302) on Monday July 31 2017, @11:46PM (#547419)
    Unless they are going to ban encryption outright (HTTPS, SSH, TLS email, and all), then they've got to see the packets and realise what they are first, while those circumventing the ban get to hide in the herd of everyone else that is doing the same. They can't arrest everyone, and although they will no doubt make a few examples from the less careful at the edge of the herd the odds are not really on the government's side. VPNs and Tor are convenient for what they are, but there are other ways of achieving the same ends - from open proxies/relays all the way to sending data via back channels like DNS and other "control" protocols, and if all else fails there's also USB sticks and the 21st century equivalent of Samizdat.
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    UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
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