Urusi inapanga kuongeza hatua kali zaidi dhidi ya matumizi ya Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), ambazo hutumiwa na mamilioni ya Warusi kukwepa udhibiti na vikwazo vya mtandao, amesema waziri wa masuala ya kidijitali wa nchi hiyo.
Hatua hii inayoelezwa na baadhi ya wanadiplomasia kama “msako mkubwa” wa Urusi dhidi ya uhuru wa mtandao, ambapo mamlaka zimekuwa zikifunga mara kwa mara huduma za intaneti ya simu na kuvuruga huduma maarufu za mawasiliano, huku zikipewa mamlaka makubwa ya kudhibiti mawasiliano ya umma.
“Lengo ni kupunguza matumizi ya VPN,” alisema Waziri wa Kidijitali Maksut Shadayev kupitia jukwaa la serikali la MAX, akiongeza kuwa wizara yake inajaribu kuweka vikwazo hivyo bila kuwaathiri sana watumiaji.
Baada ya uvamizi wa Ukraine mwaka 2022, Urusi iliweka sheria kali zaidi za kudhibiti taarifa kuliko wakati wowote tangu enzi za Umoja wa Kisovieti, ikiwa ni pamoja na kuweka udhibiti mkali wa habari na kuimarisha ushawishi wa Shirika la Usalama la Shirikisho (FSB).
Hata hivyo, katika miezi ya hivi karibuni, serikali imeongeza hatua hizo kwa kiwango kikubwa zaidi, imezuia WhatsApp, imepunguza kasi ya Telegram, na mara kwa mara imekuwa ikikatiza huduma za intaneti ya simu jijini Moscow na maeneo mengine.
Serikali imeeleza kwamba vikwazo vya intaneti ya simu ni muhimu ili kukabiliana na mashambulizi ya ndege zisizo na rubani (drone) kutoka Ukraine.
Kwa mujibu wa gazeti la Kommersant, kufikia katikati ya Januari, Urusi ilikuwa imezuia zaidi ya VPN 400, ikiwa ni ongezeko la asilimia 70 ikilinganishwa na mwishoni mwa mwaka uliopita. Hata hivyo, hali hii imekuwa kama mchezo wa paka na panya: kila VPN inapozuiwa, nyingine huibuka, na vijana wengi wa Urusi hubadilisha VPN zao karibu kila siku, kulingana na waandishi wa Reuters.
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Russia is going to further clamp down Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which are used by millions of Russians to get around internet controls and censorship, Russia's digital minister said.
In what has been cast by diplomats as Russia's "great crackdown", the authorities have repeatedly blocked mobile internet and jammed major messenger services while giving sweeping powers to cut off mass communications.
"The task is reduce VPN usage," Digital Minister Maksut Shadayev said on state-backed messenger MAX late on Monday, adding that his ministry was trying to impose the limits with minimal impact on users.
He said decisions had been taken to restrict access to a number of unidentified foreign platforms without giving details.
After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia imposed the most repressive laws seen since Soviet times, ordering censorship and bolstering the influence of the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. But in recent months, the state has gone much further: it blocked WhatsApp, has slowed down Telegram and has repeatedly jammed mobile internet in Moscow and other cities and regions.
The Kremlin says foreign platforms have failed to abide by the law and that mobile internet restrictions are necessary to counter mass Ukrainian drone strikes.
By mid-January, Russia had blocked more than 400 VPNs, 70% more than late last year, according to the Kommersant newspaper. But it is a game of cat and mouse: as soon as the authorities take down one VPN, another appears and many young Russians change their VPNs daily, according to Reuters reporters. Translate in swahili human tone
Source: Reuters
Hatua hii inayoelezwa na baadhi ya wanadiplomasia kama “msako mkubwa” wa Urusi dhidi ya uhuru wa mtandao, ambapo mamlaka zimekuwa zikifunga mara kwa mara huduma za intaneti ya simu na kuvuruga huduma maarufu za mawasiliano, huku zikipewa mamlaka makubwa ya kudhibiti mawasiliano ya umma.
“Lengo ni kupunguza matumizi ya VPN,” alisema Waziri wa Kidijitali Maksut Shadayev kupitia jukwaa la serikali la MAX, akiongeza kuwa wizara yake inajaribu kuweka vikwazo hivyo bila kuwaathiri sana watumiaji.
Baada ya uvamizi wa Ukraine mwaka 2022, Urusi iliweka sheria kali zaidi za kudhibiti taarifa kuliko wakati wowote tangu enzi za Umoja wa Kisovieti, ikiwa ni pamoja na kuweka udhibiti mkali wa habari na kuimarisha ushawishi wa Shirika la Usalama la Shirikisho (FSB).
Hata hivyo, katika miezi ya hivi karibuni, serikali imeongeza hatua hizo kwa kiwango kikubwa zaidi, imezuia WhatsApp, imepunguza kasi ya Telegram, na mara kwa mara imekuwa ikikatiza huduma za intaneti ya simu jijini Moscow na maeneo mengine.
Serikali imeeleza kwamba vikwazo vya intaneti ya simu ni muhimu ili kukabiliana na mashambulizi ya ndege zisizo na rubani (drone) kutoka Ukraine.
Kwa mujibu wa gazeti la Kommersant, kufikia katikati ya Januari, Urusi ilikuwa imezuia zaidi ya VPN 400, ikiwa ni ongezeko la asilimia 70 ikilinganishwa na mwishoni mwa mwaka uliopita. Hata hivyo, hali hii imekuwa kama mchezo wa paka na panya: kila VPN inapozuiwa, nyingine huibuka, na vijana wengi wa Urusi hubadilisha VPN zao karibu kila siku, kulingana na waandishi wa Reuters.
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Russia is going to further clamp down Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which are used by millions of Russians to get around internet controls and censorship, Russia's digital minister said.
In what has been cast by diplomats as Russia's "great crackdown", the authorities have repeatedly blocked mobile internet and jammed major messenger services while giving sweeping powers to cut off mass communications.
"The task is reduce VPN usage," Digital Minister Maksut Shadayev said on state-backed messenger MAX late on Monday, adding that his ministry was trying to impose the limits with minimal impact on users.
He said decisions had been taken to restrict access to a number of unidentified foreign platforms without giving details.
After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia imposed the most repressive laws seen since Soviet times, ordering censorship and bolstering the influence of the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. But in recent months, the state has gone much further: it blocked WhatsApp, has slowed down Telegram and has repeatedly jammed mobile internet in Moscow and other cities and regions.
The Kremlin says foreign platforms have failed to abide by the law and that mobile internet restrictions are necessary to counter mass Ukrainian drone strikes.
By mid-January, Russia had blocked more than 400 VPNs, 70% more than late last year, according to the Kommersant newspaper. But it is a game of cat and mouse: as soon as the authorities take down one VPN, another appears and many young Russians change their VPNs daily, according to Reuters reporters. Translate in swahili human tone
Source: Reuters