Russia is quietly ramping up its Internet censorship machine

Putin's plan to separate Russia from the internet has been revised. The country's internet law gave officials the power to block access to websites for millions of people. The law was used to block social media sites in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian officials have been increasing their control of the internet since then. Russia is moving towards a more isolated, authoritarian version of the web because of each small move.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created an additional pretext for ramping up draconian censorship but also passing more laws that outlaw more things and put more people under threat of criminal prosecution," says Tanya Lokot, a professor in digital media and society at Dublin City University, who researches digital rights and Internet freedom.

Over the last two months, Russian officials have made around half a dozen policy or legal announcements that look to increase control over the internet. In July, legislators have proposed the creation of a Russian app store that would be installed on new phones and a law that could limit people's data being moved out of the country Russia's parliament voted to allow people's fingerprints to be added to a database. Apple has been fined for not storing data in Russia.

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Russia tightened its laws on foreign agents, cracked down on the use of virtual private networks, and launched a draft law that would forbid officials from using foreign video conference software, among other things.

If enacted, the policies will further entrench the state's control over communications. New policies build on a decade of Moscow's tight grip. Since 2012 Russia has been legislating to regulate and control the internet. The five core principles are outlined.

Russia wants to control its internet infrastructure and own internet cables that will connect it to the world. The country puts a lot of pressure on websites and internet companies to censor their content. It is banning independent media organizations and adopting the law of foreign agents. People are forced to self-censor what they say on the internet.

There is a restriction of access to information. The legal ability to block websites was implemented through the adoption of Russia's Internet law, and since then, Russia has been increasing its technical capabilities to block sites. The possibilities for limiting access are getting better.

The idea of a Russian Internet that can be disconnected from the rest of the world is helped by the Internet law. More than 2,384 sites have been blocked in Russia since the start of the war against Ukraine. Independent Russian news websites and Ukrainian websites are included.