VPN Services Reject Roskomnadzor’s Demands
International companies providing VPN services are refusing to comply with Roskomnadzor’s requirements to connect to the Russian registry of banned websites for traffic filtering. The only exception is the domestic service from Kaspersky Lab, which has stated it will comply with the law.
After Roskomnadzor ordered ten VPN services to register with the Federal State Information System (FGIS) within 30 business days, several of them have already responded—almost all with refusals. The request was sent to services including NordVPN, Hide My Ass!, TorGuard, Hola VPN, OpenVPN, VyprVPN, ExpressVPN, IPVanish, Kaspersky Secure Connection, and VPN Unlimited. According to federal law 276-FZ, resources connected to FGIS must filter traffic, blocking access to websites banned in Russia, which essentially defeats the purpose of VPN services. If they refuse, Roskomnadzor has the right to block the service.
Current Responses from VPN Services
- TorGuard — On Roskomnadzor’s list, refused + removing servers from Russia
- VyprVPN — On the list, refused
- OpenVPN — On the list, refused
- ProtonVPN — Not on the list, refused
- NordVPN — On the list, refused + removing servers from Russia
- Private Internet Access — Not on the list, refused
- Trust.Zone — Not on the list, refused + removing servers from Russia
- VPN Unlimited — On the list, refused
- Kaspersky Secure Connection — On the list, agreed
- Windscribe — Not on the list, refused
- Ivacy VPN — Not on the list, refused
- TgVPN — Not on the list, refused, does not have servers in Russia on principle
Details on the VPN Providers’ Responses
TorGuard was the first to announce its refusal to cooperate with Russian authorities, wiping data from all servers in Moscow and St. Petersburg and ending its partnership with Russian data centers. The company explained that the security and privacy of its clients are its top priorities: “TorGuard does not disclose any information to Russian authorities.” The service will now launch additional servers in neighboring countries to maintain high VPN speeds. “If we believe the legal climate in a country poses a threat to our users’ online safety, servers in that country will no longer be available,” TorGuard stated.
VyprVPN also refused to connect to the registry of banned information in Russia. Sunday Yokubaitis, CEO of Golden Frog (the developer), told Interfax that the company’s main mission is to “keep the Internet open and free, and we will continue to provide uncensored Internet access in Russia and worldwide.” He compared Russia’s requirements to those in China, noting that “China is exporting its Great Firewall technology to Russia and other countries.” VyprVPN is prepared for possible blocking, drawing on its experience in China.
OpenVPN decided not to connect to the Russian registry either. Founder and CEO Francis Dinha stated, “OpenVPN cannot compromise and must protect the security and privacy of those we serve.” The company prioritizes protecting users from cyber threats and providing secure, private access to information worldwide. “Governments have the right to set their own policies, but OpenVPN will continue to provide access to our software and services to people wherever they live or travel,” Dinha said.
ProtonVPN also refused to comply with Roskomnadzor’s demands, even though it had not received a formal request.
NordVPN told Russian media it would consider its options within 30 days, but confirmed on Twitter that it would not comply with law 276-FZ.
Private Internet Access responded similarly: “If Roskomnadzor asks PIA to block sites, we will not comply.”
Trust.Zone, though not on Roskomnadzor’s list, preemptively stated its refusal: “Trust.Zone is under Seychelles jurisdiction, which has no mandatory data retention laws. Foreign court decisions are not enforceable, and since we keep no logs, nothing can be taken from our servers. If Roskomnadzor sends us a notice, we will ignore it. We are also ready to disable our servers in Russia if authorities request any data. In that case, Russian clients can use our servers in the Baltics and Western Europe. If Russia blocks all our IP addresses, we won’t take special action—our infrastructure uses thousands of IPs, and they are not permanent.”
These stances from ProtonVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and Trust.Zone confirm their reputation as secure services.
KeepSolid (VPN Unlimited) also refused to comply, telling MBK Media that “VPN Unlimited will not cooperate with Roskomnadzor and will not connect to the state information system for blocking banned sites.” The company said it would “fight Roskomnadzor’s censorship” if blocked.
Pavel Chikov, head of the human rights group Agora, promised legal support to any VPN service facing lawsuits for refusing Roskomnadzor’s demands. Agora previously represented Telegram in Russian courts and offered legal help to companies affected by mass blockings.
Kaspersky Lab, on the other hand, stated that its VPN solution complies with Russian law: “Kaspersky Lab’s security solutions distributed in Russia fully comply with legal requirements and will continue to do so, while still ensuring confidentiality and protection from data interception, for example, when using public Wi-Fi for online payments in cafes, airports, or hotels.”
Mikhail Klimarev, executive director of the Internet Protection Society, explained: “The main advantage of a VPN is security and proof that the service does not monitor user behavior. If a service complies and blocks sites, it proves the service is monitoring users and, therefore, lying to them. The only loser among the ‘magnificent ten’ will be Kaspersky.”
We will continue to monitor how various VPN services respond to Roskomnadzor’s demands and keep you updated.
Updates as of March 30, 2019
Windscribe has joined the list of refusals. Although Roskomnadzor has not sent them a notice, the service stated it would ignore any such request.
Ivacy VPN informed us that, even without receiving a notice, it will never compromise on user privacy and security. “We are ready to take financial losses but will not comply with absurd demands. Our position has been clear from day one! Ivacy VPN believes in freedom of speech and that a free, unrestricted Internet is a fundamental right for every user.” The company published a statement on its official website.
TgVPN owner Vladislav Zdolnikov commented: “It’s surprising that it took two years from the law’s adoption to its actual enforcement. Apparently, Roskomnadzor still doesn’t know how to implement it. The reaction of services that received the notice is a mark of quality—if a service refuses to cooperate, it’s ready to fight for the values it provides to users. Roskomnadzor is unlikely to send such a demand to TgVPN, as they believe the service is already blocked (they started blocking us almost a year ago—completely illegally, we bypass these blocks and are suing Roskomnadzor). If it happens, we’ll publish the information and ignore it, as we would with any request from any Russian government agency. From the start, we saw having servers in Russia as a vulnerability, so we don’t and never will have them.”