Subj : "A clear escalation in Ru
To : All
From : Mike Powell
Date : Sat May 17 2025 09:04 am
"A clear escalation in Russias crackdown on digital privacy tools" experts
warn against recent VPN disappearances in Russia
Date:
Fri, 16 May 2025 16:02:25 +0000
Description:
The VPN purge from Russian official app stores continues as smaller providers
like Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei become the next target. Experts at the VPN
Guild are calling to hold tech platforms accountable.
FULL STORY
======================================================================
The VPN purge from Russian official app stores continues, with smaller
providers becoming the new target after Apple and Google.
Between May 15 and 16, 2025, Samsung and Xiaomi both removed the AdGuard VPN
application at the Roskomnadzor's demand. At least one more VPN provider,
HideMyName VPN, has also been removed from the Huawei Store in Russia and
China a Russian VPN digital rights group, VPN Guild, confirmed to TechRadar.
"The removal of VPN apps from app stores marks a clear escalation in Russias
crackdown on digital privacy tools," said VPN Guild Chair Alexey Kozliuk. Not
an isolated incident A virtual private network (VPN) is a crucial tool for
people in Russia, thanks to its IP-spoofing capabilities that allow bypassing
of government-imposed geo-restrictions, as well as strong encryption to help
fight back against online surveillance.
The recent events, Kozliuk explains, aren't isolated incidents, but part of a
broader, ongoing campaign to block Russian citizens' access to uncensored
information and control internet use.
In October 2023, for example, HideMyName filed the first-ever lawsuit against
the Kremlin's infamous censorship body regulator Roskomnadzor. In January
2024, authorities deemed the VPN provider to be a "foreign agent. "
In March 2024, the government then passed a new law to criminalize the spread
of information about ways to circumvent internet restrictions. This is likely
the legal basis upon which the Russian censor body began issuing these
removal demands to tech firms.
From July 2024 onwards, Apple has removed at least 60 VPN apps, including
AdGuard VPN , a popular Russian service, and Amnezia VPN , alongside some of
the best VPN services on the market. This brought the total toll to almost
100 VPN apps unavailable in Russia's App Store.
While Google seems mostly resistant to these demands so far, recent data
shows that at least 53 VPNs are also currently unavailable in the Google Play
Store in Russia.
Now, authorities' targets have also expanded towards smaller app store
providers.
"Were seeing a coordinated squeeze across platforms, limiting users ability
to bypass restrictions," said Kozliuk. "Whats especially concerning is the
growing role of global tech companies in enforcing local censorship, whether
under direct state pressure or as preemptive compliance."
GreatFires Campaign and Advocacy Director, Benjamin Ismail, also shared the
same concerns. Through the organization's project AppCensorship, Ismail and
the team have been busy monitoring a staggering increase in these VPN
removals across both Apple and Google's official app stores.
While it's the first time Ismail has heard of such an incident involving
Samsung's Galaxy App Store, he told TechRadar that a way smaller provider
(F-Droid) was also hit by a similar request in 2024.
According to Ismail, this may mean that Roskomnadzor has understood that it
can try its luck to put pressure on tech vendors. "Smaller providers may
struggle more to resist these demands as the prospect of becoming fully
unavailable in Russia might be an issue for these platforms," he added.
VPNs will remain a critical line of defense for digital freedom -- Alexey
Kozliuk, VPN Guild Chair
This is exactly why experts have long argued that Big Tech giants, which have
the means and resources, should uphold their users' human rights and
challenge the Kremlin's censorship requests.
Commenting on this point, Kozliuk from the VPN Guild said: "This underscores
the urgent need to give users more control and make them less reliant on
centralized platforms and app ecosystems, as well as the need for stronger
international advocacy to hold tech platforms accountable.
"As political tensions rise, especially around elections or protests, these
crackdowns will likely intensify and VPNs will remain a critical line of
defense for digital freedom."
======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/a-clear-escalation-in-russi
as-crackdown-on-digital-privacy-tools-experts-warn-against-recent-vpn-disappea
rances-in-russia
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