In the final reading, a bill to ban tools for bypassing Internet blocking, which includes, among other things, VPN services and anonymizers. If such services refuse to block access to prohibited content, they themselves will be blocked by Roskomnadzor. If approved by the Federation Council and President Vladimir Putin, the law will enter into force on November 1, 2017.

The Village figured out which services will be subject to restrictions, how they will be blocked and how this will affect users.

What will be blocked

The new law establishes a ban on the use of information systems and programs to gain access to Internet resources blocked in Russia. Not only proxy and VPN services fall under the law, but also anonymous networks such as Tor and I2P. In addition, the document prohibits search engines like Google and Yandex from issuing links to blocked resources.

However, the list of resources available for restriction does not end there, since the sites that post information about the means of bypassing blocking are heterogeneous. These include any resources with lists of VPN services and even app stores, including the App Store and Google Play. Software platforms such as operating systems and their technical portals, such as the Microsoft technical support portal, which describes how to set up a VPN in various versions of Windows, may also be banned. It is also possible to limit the work of popular browsers that offer built-in ways to bypass blocking. Similar options are available in various versions in Opera, Chrome or Safari. Lists of VPN services and instructions for setting them up are also distributed via social networks and instant messengers.

At the same time, the law provides for an exception for their own VPN companies, if these funds are available only to employees. In turn, the Internet Ombudsman under the President, Dmitry Marinichev, who called the bill "madness", noted the impossibility of separating the VPN used for commercial purposes from the VPN used to bypass blocking.

How to block

Anonymizers and VPN services can be blocked in two ways - by IP addresses or by traffic type.

If the first technology, which has already been tested in Russia, is used, Roskomnadzor will enter into the registry all domain names and IP addresses of the official websites of VPN services where the product can be purchased. Also, by IP, you can block public Tor servers that users connect to.

To use the second technology, it is necessary to install DPI equipment for deep traffic analysis on the networks of all operators, which is able to detect VPN traffic and distinguish it from other encrypted HTTPS traffic. DPI equipment is quite expensive, so taking into account the large number of operators in Russia, it will take a lot of time and money to use this technology. This method has already been tested in China, where there is a constant arms race between the authorities and developers.

What to do for users

The experience of Asian countries like China, where the Golden Shield content filtering system has been operating since 2003, shows that limiting the work of tools to bypass Internet blocking does not completely restrict user access to VPN services, Tor exit nodes, and other traffic proxying tools.

Clients of VPN services before the introduction of DPI equipment will not notice any changes for themselves. Unlike sites with software distributions, it is extremely difficult to block a VPN itself, which will require a deep understanding of the principles of operation of each individual service and the structure of the network. In addition, a VPN service can quickly restructure the network, and everything will need to be done again. At the same time, the restructuring procedure can be automated - in this case, the VPN provider can create new IP addresses at least every minute. For users, it will look like an automatic update of extensions.

There are a lot of VPN services all over the world now, and new ones are constantly appearing. The competition in the VPN market is quite high, and it is impossible to block all bypass means in a short time. In addition, users will be able to receive all installation files for VPN applications on forums, by mail or in instant messengers. According to the head of Roskomsvoboda Artem Kozlyuk, 80-90% of services will remain available to Russians.

In addition, the possibility of using a dual VPN will remain and probably will be developed - when the user connects to a server in one country (for example, in Canada), and from there - to a server in another (for example, in Norway). Then the final, Norwegian service will treat the Russian user as a Canadian and will not apply blocks from the Roskomnadzor list even if both VPN services comply with Russian law.

Another option is to set up your own VPN by renting a place on an overseas hosting, which will require a small financial investment. And in some mobile devices, such as Android smartphones, there is a built-in VPN function, and in the case of pre-installed programs, it is simply impossible to block any VPN resource. In addition, as noted earlier, blocking will officially be allowed to bypass corporate VPNs used by company employees.

As for Tor, the network, in addition to the public list of keys, has a constantly updated list of servers through which you can access the desired sites. In the case of blocking public Tor nodes, you can use bridges that are specially designed to bypass blocking using hidden relays to connect to the network and access prohibited sites. Users can use the browser's built-in bridge options or get new addresses.

Chapter 13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO), introduced a year ago by a group of deputies, was voted by 306 members of the lower house of parliament.

More than 108,000 sites with prohibited information have been blocked in Russia, but the popularity of anonymizers is growing

Now, for failure to provide Roskomnadzor with data on the owners of means of bypassing the blocking of citizens, they will be fined in the amount of ten thousand to thirty thousand rubles. For legal entities, the punishment is higher - from fifty thousand to three hundred thousand rubles.

Penalties are also provided for the issuance by search engines of links to prohibited sites. For citizens, the punishment can reach 5 thousand rubles, officials will pay from 30 to 50 thousand rubles, the highest fine for organizations is from 500 to 700 thousand rubles.

After the adoption by the State Duma in the final reading, the law will go to the upper house of parliament - the Federation Council.

Senators can consider it at the next meeting on June 20. If approved by the upper house and signed by the president, it will enter into force 90 days after its official publication, that is, in mid-autumn.

The amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses adopted by the State Duma are aimed at enforcing the law banning anonymizers. It was adopted by Parliament in July last year and came into force on November 1. The law establishes a ban on the use of information systems and programs to gain access to sites blocked in Russia. Subdivisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB can participate in tracking the use of anonymizers, the document gives them the right to notify Roskomnadzor of detected cases for subsequent blocking of means to circumvent restrictions.

By the way, blocking of such resources has been used since mid-April to restrict access to the Telegram messenger. In order to enforce the relevant decision of the Tagansky Court of Moscow, Roskomnadzor has already blocked about 50 VPN services and anonymizers that provided access to the messenger.

In total, according to the department at the end of May, more than 108 thousand sites with prohibited information were blocked in Russia, but the popularity of anonymizers is growing. According to the head of the department, Alexander Zharov, over the past two years, the number of users of such services has grown from five to seven to ten to fifteen percent. At the same time, only a quarter of popular proxy and VPN services comply with the current restrictions.

It should be noted that the requirements of both laws - both on the prohibition of the use of anonymizers and on liability for its violation - apply to all players in the digital market, both domestic and foreign.

However, the authors of the adopted law - deputies Maxim Kudryavtsev (United Russia), Nikolai Ryzhak (Fair Russia) and Alexander Yushchenko (KPRF) - say they have reached a "complete understanding" with the owners of search engines and software.

Meanwhile

The State Duma on Tuesday adopted in the first reading a draft law that allows concluding hereditary contracts and drawing up joint wills of spouses. The initiative was introduced by Pavel Krasheninnikov, head of the Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation. The bill introduces amendments to parts one and three of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which provide for new opportunities for Russian inheritance law - to conclude inheritance contracts and draw up joint wills of spouses. As the author of the initiative explained earlier, this will help "to agree in advance on the fate of the inheritance and thereby reduce the likelihood of conflicts involving persons who may be called to inherit." For example, if there is a joint will of the spouses, it is not necessary to divide joint property, and then decide on the issue of inheritance and heirs.

New penalties for client base leaks

Mintsifra proposed to introduce penalties for leakage of personal data in the public domain.

There are over 400,000 personal data operators in Russia, including hotels, carriers, mobile communications companies, and banks. On their behalf, other companies collect and process information, accumulate large databases (for example, insurance agents, aggregators), which often "leak" and are used in completely different ways - by marketers, scammers, "cold sales" specialists, and so on. In "leaks" personal data operators usually blame just those who collected information for them.

According to the project, if the operator did not control the collection of data, then he would face a fine of up to 30 thousand rubles for one identified case of a "leak". For persons who collect data on behalf of operators, fines are projected in the same amount for violation of data processing rules.

In addition, the department proposes to limit the number of organizations that can publish data about orphans on the Internet. Only federal and regional authorities that are responsible for the formation of a state data bank on children left without parental care are going to be granted such an exclusive right, and the executive authorities will retain the right to process biometric personal data of orphans for their placement in families.

Image copyright Silas Stein/DPA/TASS Image caption Owners of VPN services and "anonymizers" are required to block access to prohibited sites

On November 1, a law came into force in Russia obliging owners of VPN services and so-called anonymizers to close access to prohibited sites.

The new law affects all known tools for bypassing blocking and achieving anonymity on the Internet, including browser extensions and the anonymous Tor browser. President Vladimir Putin signed the package of amendments in July 2017.

"In Russia, there are 25-30 proxy and VPN services that are popular with the population. Among them are cameleo.ru, 2ip.ru and others. They all expressed their readiness to comply with the law," Alexander Zharov, head of Roskomnadzor, told RBC.

At the same time, he admitted that there are still hundreds of thousands of small VPN services that are much more difficult to block. "But the law is focused primarily on the most popular services among citizens," Zharov said.

Many users fear that the ban will tighten Internet censorship in Russia. The human rights organization Amnesty International said after the signing of the law that the amendments were a "serious blow to Internet freedom" in Russia.

How will the new ban work?

To implement the amendments in Russia, a federal state information system (FSIS) is being launched. At the request of the police, Roskomnadzor will identify providers that provide access to VPN services and anonymizers.

Providers will be required to connect to the FSIS and provide information about the owner of the anonymizer, who will also have to connect to the system. After that, the owner of the service will be required to close access to sites included in the list of prohibited. If the owner refuses, the anonymizer will be blocked.

• Foreign VPN provider leaves Russia due to "Yarovaya package"

The amendments also include restrictions for search engines. If the services show links to sites from the list of prohibited ones, they will be fined.

Are the owners of anonymizers ready for the new law?

Roskomnadzor reported on October 31 that the regulator is completing testing of a system for interacting with anonymizer owners.

In preparation for the entry into force of the ban, Roskomnadzor employees met with market participants and explained how the amendments would work.

"In general, the testing was successful. The following took part in it: Kaspersky Lab, Opera Software AS, Cameleo, 2ip, Mail.ru, Yandex, Sputnik," the department told the BBC. to obtain a list of blocked Internet resources), including in an automated mode, as well as launching a filtering mechanism for users of blocked sites".

Will it be possible to block Tor?

Roskomnadzor will not be able to completely close access to Tor. This browser uses not only open network addresses, but also closed ones, which are almost impossible to block. Tor issues them at the request of the user.

Belarus is trying to block Tor. As of December 2016, censors blacklisted about 6,000 of the 7,000 Tor public addresses active around the world.

The number of users of non-public network addresses in this country has grown from 250 to 3,000 since the start of the blocking, European Radio for Belarus reported. At the same time, the number of users of public addresses fell from 3 thousand to 2.6 thousand people.

What are the possible side effects

The Association of European Businesses warned in October that corporate VPN services that are used for business purposes could be subject to the new ban.

The ban does not apply to such VPN services, but experts note that it is impossible to distinguish a corporate network from a public one.

It is also unclear how the law will work in the case of Google and Apple, whose stores sell third-party VPN services. Artem Kozlyuk, head of the Roskomsvoboda project, said earlier that Roskomnadzor is trying to negotiate with Google and Apple so that they remove such services from their stores.

In Roskomnadzor, the BBC reported that they are not experiencing difficulties in working with Google and Apple. "We have been cooperating for a long time in terms of removing illegal applications from these stores," the regulator said.

What about Crimea

The ban on anonymizers will adversely affect the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol, warned Sergey Grebennikov, CEO of ROCIT. Due to sanctions, the services of some Internet companies are unavailable on the peninsula.

For example, many Google, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal services do not work in Crimea. The inhabitants of the peninsula got access to them through anonymizers and VPN.

"Half of Crimean residents now use VPN services, because many sites are inaccessible to them due to sanctions, and the introduction of this law may leave Crimean residents for some time without the services they used to use on a daily basis," Grebennikov said. at a meeting of the State Duma in June.

"Crime is committed not on the Internet, but offline, and the Internet serves only as a way. It is necessary to catch criminals offline. The bans that are proposed to be introduced will lead to the development of the Darknet, that is, we continue to fight against windmills," noted CEO of ROCIT.

In the current version of the law, no exceptions were made for citizens, Sergei Grebennikov told the BBC Russian Service. "So the only option for them is to use a corporate VPN or buy and set up the service themselves," the expert added.

Roskomnadzor noted in this regard that the amendments do not prohibit VPN services and anonymizers, but simply oblige their owners to block access to blocked resources.

While the struggle for the Internet continues in Russia, more and more users are learning to use means to bypass Roskomnadozar's bans: they are mastering VPNs and proxies, thanking the supervisory authority for the incentive to engage in computer literacy. However, the question arises as to whether it is generally legal to use these services, and since the country is so zealously undertaking to block the Internet, will they not be punished for circumventing the bans.

When Roskomnadzor began (trying to) block Telegram, users only joked about the department and. There were even stories on social networks that saleswomen in stores taught how to use bypass tools.

Sergey Vasilyevich ‏