Roskomnadzor blocks six VPN services, including top-rated providers

Roskomnadzor (RKN) blocked six VPN services, Interfax reports. According to the federal censorship agency, the VPN providers — NordVPN, ExpressVPN, IPVanish, Hola, VPN Unlimited, and Speedify — “violate Russian law.”

Roskomnadzor warned that it would soon block these six VPN providers back in June, telling government agencies to inform them if they use these services so as to avoid technical disruptions.

In total, 64 sectoral organizations responded to RKN, 27 of which use these VPN services to support technological processes. They will be able to continue using the VPNs after they are blocked.

ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and IPVanish are among the top-rated VPN providers in the world, according to trade publications.

• In June, Roskomnadzor restricted the use of two VPN services in Russia: Opera VPN and VyprVPN. This was followed by a spike in the price of VPN services in Russia.
• In August, the Russian Central Bank warned that Roskomnadzor might block four other VPN providers: Psiphon, Tunnelbear, Thunder, Redshield.