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HideMyNamehas been receiving messages from Russian users who couldn’t access its website since June 6, 2023.
On the provider’s end, everything was working just fine.
No traces of theVPN service’s domain name on Roskomnadzor’s list of blocking sites could be found either.
As Darbinyan explained to me, HideMyName’s case is pretty unique.
This lack of transparency is legally problematic, even for a country like Russia.
Not just that; the nature of the blocking itself is also unusual.
“This is the first lawsuit because such blocking had never happened before,” he told me.
“Until 2022, censorship in Russia was severe, but quite primitive.
More than167 VPNs have already reportedly been blockedin Russia in one way or another.
“Online censorship in Russia is becoming stricter every year,” said Darbinyan.
And a week ago, test blocking of the modernShadowsocksprotocol was already underway.”
Winning in Court will mean way more than having a blocking site restored.
Darbinyan said that both HideMyName and Roskomsvoboda are prepared to fight this difficult battle against Roskomnadzor.
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