russia Disconnecting from the World: a New Wave of Digital Restrictions

russia is introducing a ban on incoming international calls from a number of “unfriendly countries” without the prior consent of the subscriber. Of course, this is presented as an initiative aimed at fighting telephone and internet fraud.

The current list of “unfriendly” countries compiled by the russian authorities now includes 47 states and territories, including the EU, the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Ukraine.

The plan is not only to restrict international incoming calls, but also to introduce mandatory labeling for them.

Apart from restrictions on international calls, the government plans to introduce “children’s SIM cards”, which will allow parents to control content without additional applications.

The kremlin is consistently tightening control over digital services. Over the past two weeks, roskomnadzor has announced the blocking of four popular Internet services in Russia: Roblox games, FaceTime video calling apps, and SnapChat and WhatsApp messengers.

Earlier, the state duma announced the need to block international telephone communications on landlines. The ministry of digital development of the rf has also begun to disable for 24 hours the mobile internet and SMS services for citizens returning from abroad.

Against this background, the rollback into the past continues, with the “Melodiya” having resumed production of vinyl discs.