Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday released a report on the Russian government’s increasing control over internet infrastructure and digital communication across the country.
The report, titled “Disrupted, Throttled, and Blocked: State Censorship, Control, and Increasing Isolation of Internet Users in Russia,” details the widespread and systemic censorship being carried out online. It outlines how Russian authorities have throttled access to websites and online platforms deemed subversive, blocked independent news outlets, and enforced arbitrary internet shutdowns. These actions have intensified significantly in both scope and frequency, particularly since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Access to websites and apps like Instagram and Facebook is largely impossible for Russians without the use of a virtual private network (VPN), although authorities regularly exploit the widespread lack of knowledge regarding VPNs to access restricted apps to push political propaganda by encouraging involvement in the Russian military and redirecting users to Russian-endorsed apps.
This crackdown on digital spaces is reflective of the Russian state’s understanding of the internet not just as a tool of communication, but a battleground for regime stability by preventing the possibility of protests against its policies. This latest wave of restrictions comes after Russia’s 2019 “Sovereign Internet” law, which required internet service providers (ISPs) to install equipment that permits authorities to circumvent providers and automatically block banned content and reroute internet traffic themselves.
Legislative prohibitions to control discourse and allowing individuals to form their own opinion on pressing issues are commonplace in the country of 143.8 million people, building on the “Yarovaya” amendments, which mandated that telecommunications companies retain metadata for a period of three years and other social media platforms to retain data for up to a year. Internationally, Russia’s digital authoritarianism presents a growing challenge to open internet governance and democratic norms and threatens to undermine the universality of the internet, creating a false state-curated reality.
In addition to arbitrary laws being put in place to censor information that is deemed “undesirable” to the Russian government, authorities have also targeted individual journalists for charges of harassment and prosecution, a situation that underscores the widespread erosion of human rights in the country. At least seven journalists were charged with criminal offenses, particularly for their criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine or for alleged links to the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his organization, the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which was categorised as an extremist body in 2021.
The prohibition of states censoring information is enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which safeguards the freedom to hold opinions without interference and impart information and ideas through any media. The international community should act swiftly to defend digital freedoms in Russia and hold the country accountable for violating international law.
