In a development with profound implications for information freedom, analysts and activists say Russia is in the midst of a “vast, slow-moving effort” to sever its internet from the global network. Unlike the abrupt shutdowns seen in Iran earlier this year, Moscow’s approach is piecemeal and deliberately opaque.
The strategy involves escalating mobile internet blackouts across Russian cities and provinces, growing restrictions on certain types of traffic, and new blocks on Telegram — the messaging app that has become essential to daily life for most Russians. The Guardian reports that the consequences are steep for millions of people who are “gradually being cut off,” comparing the trajectory to Iran’s own internet suppression model.
