Ministry of Digital Development Promises No Penalties for VPN Use

The Russian Ministry of Digital Development has stated that there will be no penalties for users of VPN services, although the use of such applications is not encouraged. Maksut Shadayev, the head of the Ministry, made this clear in an interview with RBC:

“There will absolutely be no penalties introduced for users. We are against that. So, for those who really need it, this option will remain available and will continue to be available. Of course, this contradicts the state policy of restricting access to certain resources, but I believe this is a reasonable compromise.”

Shadayev also spoke out against blocking YouTube in Russia. “There’s no need to shut it down. Let’s focus on creating our own competitive platform. In my view, shutting it down should be the very last resort, and it always negatively affects competitiveness. We understand this clearly,” he said.

The minister also shared data on user traffic monitored by the Ministry before and after the start of the Russian military operation. According to him, before February 24, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now blocked) accounted for 10–12% of all internet traffic. However, after February 24 and the subsequent blocks, VPN services used to bypass restrictions only accounted for 20% of the previous traffic to these three social networks.

Recently, YouTube blocked the channel of “Krasny Kvadrat,” one of Russia’s largest and most successful television media holdings. This company created popular programs such as “Star Factory,” “ProjectorParisHilton,” “Minute of Fame,” “Two Stars,” “Old Songs About the Main Thing,” “Fashion Verdict,” “Cartoon Characters,” “Let’s Get Married,” “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” “Pozner,” and others.