Russia wants to ban all foreign web services

Russia may ban all foreign web services and messengers - Interior Ministry initiative

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has proposed to fully ban foreign web services and messengers on the territory of the country. The initiative is justified by the need to strengthen the fight against crime in the digital environment.

What we know about the initiative

According to available information, Russian officials are considering the option of total access restriction to foreign online platforms, including messaging services and cloud infrastructure.

Such steps can significantly strengthen the isolation of the Russian Internet space and accelerate the transition to state-controlled or local digital solutions.

Service failures

Against the backdrop of these statements, Russia has recorded massive outages in the work of a number of international platforms, in particular:

• artificial intelligence services;

• infrastructures Cloudflare;

• individual gaming platforms and online services.

At the same time, some of the resources continue to operate without noticeable restrictions, which may indicate both selective technical problems, and about possible test access restrictions.

Context.

In recent years, the Russian authorities have been consistently moving towards a model of «sovereign internet», by strengthening control over the information space, social networks and digital services.

The potential ban on foreign platforms could be one of the the toughest steps of digital isolation, This will have an impact on business, the IT industry and everyday user communication in the country.