Russia weighs capping foreign internet traffic for its users

Russia's Digital Development Ministry is considering sending all traffic from foreign domains through the country's internet traffic filtering system, known as TSPU, and limiting its volume. Forbes Russia reported the discussions, citing several sources, including ministry officials and people in the IT industry. The measures could be written into a bill that overhauls the telecommunications sector.

What the plan involves

The ministry is expected to receive the authority to restrict foreign traffic for Russian users once it passes a threshold that has not yet been set. From an operator's perspective, VPN use looks like foreign traffic. A VPN is a service people use to get around access blocks.

Doubts in the industry

Industry representatives polled by Forbes Russia said it will be hard to determine which traffic counts as foreign. A technical expert at RKS Global explained that a Russian website hosted abroad would be classified as foreign, while a server rented in Russia would be classified as domestic.

The ministry itself said these issues are being worked out, but it is too early to say which of them will make it into the final version of the amendments, and in what form.

Background

It has been reported repeatedly that the ministry wants to charge higher fees for foreign traffic. Demand for VPNs in Russia has surged as the authorities block popular social networks, services and messaging apps. In response, the authorities have stepped up their fight against ways of circumventing the blocks. The budget for the next three years sets aside a record 60 billion rubles for traffic filtering.