Russia to continue to block VPN services - State Duma's Khinshtein

MOSCOW. March 15 (Interfax) - About 20 popular VPN services have already been blocked in Russia, and the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) intends to continue this work, Chairman of the State Duma Information Policy Committee Alexander Khinshtein said.

"To date, about 20 popular VPNs in Russia have already been blocked. They will continue to be blocked," Khinshtein said on Duma TV on Tuesday.

"Roskomnadzor is working, VPNs are blocked every day, it's not such a simple task, but it is being fulfilled," he said during a discussion on the restrictions imposed in Russia on social media owned by Meta.

"Everyone who continues to use this network, [Instagram] in one way or another uses a VPN, a system of bypass routing on the Internet," Khinshtein said.

On March 11, after it emerged that Facebook and Instagram would temporarily allow users in some countries to call for violence against Russian soldiers, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit with a court to designate Meta as an extremist organization and ban its activities in Russia.