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Russia forces Google to delist VPN URLs as downloads cross 40,000

Russia is forcing Google to delist URLs associated with virtual private networks, or VPNs, but almost half a million Russians are downloading the technology that allows them to obscure their internet usage and access government-blocked websites.

Clearly, Russians are looking for uncensored information about their government’s war against Ukraine.

“Surfshark conducted an analysis showing that the Russian telecoms regulator (Roskomnadzor) has forced Google to delist more than 36,000 URLs that link to VPN services over the past month,” a Surfshark representative told me via email. (The company offers a VPN product.) “The most significant spike of requests was recorded amid the second week of the war, when the Kremlin banned various media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, while others left due to a ‘fake news’ law.”

That spike, however, coincided specifically with a 3500% increase in Russians getting VPNs, according to the company.

Mobile analytics company Apptopia has seen the surge as well.

“More than 400,000 Russians a day are downloading a top 5 VPN app,” company VP Adam Blacker said on Twitter. “Apple and Google should not shut these people off from the outside world. They need information.”

This is the biggest surge in VPN downloads since China’s Hong Kong security law in May 2020, Surfshark said. That surge, however, was only 700%: not nearly as massive as the current increase.

As thousands of companies and hundreds of countries isolate Russia both economically and politically, this is a reason for Google and Apple to keep their services functioning in Russia despite the challenges.

“Millions of Russians rely on the internet for unbiased information on war and current domestic and international affairs,” says Gabriele Racaityte, Surfshark’s head of public relations. “It’s evident that Russia has long been preparing a cut off from the global internet, and its Ukraine invasion is a turning point.” Forbes

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