VPNs fight to help Russians resist Kremlin controls
In this edition, digital internet access firms are fighting hard to stay online in Russia.
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THE STORY
After the destructive earthquake in Turkey last week, criticism of the country’s emergency response services led Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to block access to Twitter for several hours. Virtual private networks (VPNs) became an essential way to maintain the flow of information and, in this case, criticism.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, VPN services have garnered substantial new import, support and funding, while also developing new technologies to limit internet controls. In war, all sides seek to control information. From the earliest days of the invasion, Russia Today, the Russian state-funded news outlet and television channel, was blocked across Europe. And in Russia, any mention of the conflict beyond the spurious phrase “special military operation” was grounds for censorship or even the complete dismantling of media enterprises.