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Partial blocking or throttling of social media in Russia #106

Open wkrp opened 2 years ago

wkrp commented 2 years ago

Roskomnadzor published a press release on 2022-02-25 announcing plans to "partially restrict" access to Facebook, in retaliation for restrictions by Facebook on the accounts of certain Russia media organizations.

https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news74108.htm (archive)

Приняты меры по защите российских СМИ

25 февраля 2022 года

24 февраля социальная сеть Facebook (компании Meta Platforms, Inc.) ограничила официальные аккаунты четырех российских СМИ: телеканала «Звезда», информационного агентства «РИА Новости», интернет-площадок «Лента.ру» и «Газета.ру».

Подобные действия в отношении российских интернет-ресурсов и СМИ запрещены Федеральным законом № 272-ФЗ «О мерах воздействия на лиц, причастных к нарушениям основополагающих прав и свобод человека, прав и свобод граждан Российской Федерации».

Роскомнадзор 24 февраля направил требования администрации Meta Platforms, Inc. снять введенные социальной сетью Facebook ограничения в отношении российских СМИ и объяснить причину их введения. Требования Роскомнадзора владельцы социальной сети проигнорировали.

Начиная с октября 2020 года Роскомнадзор зафиксировал 23 случая подобной цензуры в отношении российских СМИ и интернет-ресурсов со стороны Facebook.

25 февраля Генеральной прокуратурой по согласованию с МИД принято решение о признании социальной сети Facebook причастной к нарушению основополагающих прав и свобод человека, а также прав и свобод граждан России.

В соответствии с решением Генеральной прокуратуры в отношении социальной сети Facebook, начиная с 25 февраля 2022 года, Роскомнадзором, в соответствии с законом, принимаются меры частичного ограничения доступа.

Measures taken to protect Russian media

February 25, 2022

On February 24, the social network Facebook (of Meta Platforms, Inc.) restricted the official accounts of four Russian media outlets: the TV channel Zvezda, the news agency RIA Novosti, and the Internet sites Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru.

Such actions against Russian Internet resources and media outlets are prohibited by Federal Law № 272-ФЗ "On measures to influence individuals involved in violations of the fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation".

On February 24, Roskomnadzor sent demands to the administration of Meta Platforms, Inc. to lift the restrictions imposed by the social network Facebook in relation to Russian media and explain the reason for their introduction. The owners of the social network ignored the demands of Roskomnadzor.

Since October 2020, Roskomnadzor has recorded 23 cases of such censorship of Russian media and Internet resources by Facebook.

On February 25, the Prosecutor General's Office, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a decision to recognize Facebook as a social network involved in violating fundamental human rights and freedoms as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens.

In accordance with the decision of the General Prosecutor's Office in respect of the social network Facebook, starting from February 25, 2022, Roskomnadzor, in accordance with the law, takes measures to partially restrict access.

On the NTC thread there are mixed reports. @ValdikSS reports throttling of the SNI web.facebook.com, but not other SNI values on the same IP address.

Наблюдаю «замедление» для домена web.facebook.com. Замедление осуществляется по SNI: при использовании любого другого имени домена на этом же IP-адресе проблем с потерей пакетов нет. Tele2.

I observe a "slowdown" for the domain web.facebook.com. Slowdown is carried out by SNI: when using any other domain name on the same IP address, there is no problem with packet loss. Tele2.

wkrp commented 2 years ago

Since 2022-02-26, some users in Russia are reporting blocking or throttling of Twitter domains. Unlike with Facebook, there was apparently no advance notice of action against Twitter, but Twitter itself has confirmed the reports.

NTC thread: Блокировка/замедление Twitter / Block/throttling of Twitter

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60533083 (archive)

In a statement, the company said "We're aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our services safe and accessible".

https://ntc.party/t/twitter-26-02-2022/1724

В моём случае наблюдается блокировка (мобильный Теле2/проводной ОБИТ): подключение устанавливается, первые пакеты TLS-сессии проходят, но все последующие отбрасываются, и до передачи данных внутри сессии не доходит.

In my case, there is a blocking (mobile Tele2 / wired OBIT): the connection is established, the first packets of the TLS-session pass, but all subsequent ones are discarded, and it does not reach the data transfer within the session.

https://ntc.party/t/twitter-26-02-2022/1724/7

Днём было всё в порядке, сейчас тоже наблюдаю замедление. Ростелеком, Свердловская область.

Точнее сказать, это даже не замедление, а невозможность загрузить часть контента. Страница профиля (шапка) может подгрузиться, а картинки и твиты — нет.

In the afternoon it was all right, now I also see a slowdown. Rostelecom, Sverdlovsk region.

More precisely, this is not even a slowdown, but the inability to download part of the content. The profile page (header) may load, but pictures and tweets may not.

One user finds that the domain matching is case-sensitive:

https://ntc.party/t/twitter-26-02-2022/1724/2

openssl s_client -connect twitteR.com:443

работает быстро, а

openssl s_client -connect twitter.com:443

тормозит (на поддоменах тоже проявляется). Разница в поле SNI.

openssl s_client -connect twitteR.com:443

works fast, and

openssl s_client -connect twitter.com:443

slows down (it also manifests itself on subdomains). The difference is in the SNI field.

Last year's throttling of Twitter started on 2021-03-10: #65.

azadi commented 2 years ago

Thanks for these updates.

In a statement, the company said "We're aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our services safe and accessible".

I do wonder though, when Twitter makes a statement such as, "[we] are working to keep our services safe and accessible", what does this mean? As in, what can Twitter do -- without turning on something like ECH, which they currently don't as is expected -- to keep their website accessible? I wonder if anyone knows what are they alluding to.

wkrp commented 2 years ago

As in, what can Twitter do -- without turning on something like ECH, which they currently don't as is expected -- to keep their website accessible?

It's a good question. In the short term, there are some workarounds a group like Twitter could apply, especially if you are talking about an app rather than a web browser. The Censored Planet report about last year's throttling (since expanded into a research paper I haven't read yet) found some workarounds, e.g. appending a dot to the SNI, splitting the ClientHello across segments, sending a different record before ClientHello, etc. Presumably a Twitter app would be in a position to apply TLS hacks like that. ValdikSS made a custom hacked Android Firefox that applies such tricks:

The libnss3.so library has been binary-patched to always include padding of 4096 bytes in ClientHello packet, to split single ClientHello into multiple TCP segments, hoping that Deep Packet Inspection system won’t be able to reconstruct the packet and detect the domain being accessed.

Of course, the censors can employ countermeasures to techniques like this, but those countermeasures take time and resources to deploy. Playing the cat-and-mouse game can make sense as a matter of short-term tactics, even if (as I believe) it's not the right frame of mind for long-term strategy.

Twitter could deploy their own mirrors or proxies, or include some more heavyweight circumvention system. But all this is speculation on my part, and probably reflects my biases. For all I know, an organization like Twitter's first response to a situation like this might be to engage a team of lawyers, rather than take some technological approach.

ValdikSS commented 2 years ago

As in, what can Twitter do

Technically there are different efficient server-side circumvention methods, but I guess if someone huge like Twitter applies it, it would be patched in a day or two.

wkrp commented 2 years ago

Additional blockages that have been noted in Russia in the past few days. Some of them are notable because they are blocked despite not being listed in the Unified Register of blocked sites.

wkrp commented 2 years ago

"partially restrict" access to Facebook

It seems that the blocking of Facebook is also affecting WhatsApp. A user reported problems with the domain api.whatsapp.com starting around 2022-03-04 05:40. Reports on other ISPs were mixed. One user reports that the problem is not with api.whatsapp.com, but with static.xx.fbcdn.net (Facebook static assets CDN).

https://ntc.party/t/whatsapp/1815

wkrp commented 2 years ago

As in, what can Twitter do -- without turning on something like ECH, which they currently don't as is expected -- to keep their website accessible?

Somewhat related, today Twitter announced an onion site:

https://twitter.com/torproject/status/1501285553957834758 (archive) https://twitter3e4tixl4xyajtrzo62zg5vztmjuricljdp2c5kshju4avyoid.onion/torproject/status/1501285553957834758

We're very happy to see that Twitter is now offering an .onion address. 🐦🧅

https://twitter3e4tixl4xyajtrzo62zg5vztmjuricljdp2c5kshju4avyoid.onion/

For many years Tor users have been looking for such a feature. Thank you Twitter!

Now is a vital time to help people stay connected and .onion services help to do this.

An onion site alone does not directly help with circumvention: anyone able to use Tor would be able to access Twitter through its clearnet address. However, an onion site is a signal that they are more aware of their users who prefer or need to use Tor, and therefore may be less likely to hassle those users with e.g. account lockouts.

wkrp commented 2 years ago

Reports are that Instagram is now blocked in some networks.

https://ntc.party/t/instagram/1904/12

People are reporting connection_reset errors, and SNI matching for instagram.com and www.instagram.com, regardless of IP address. I don't know if the blocking technique is uniform (i.e., done by TSPU) or if it varies by ISP.

OONI doesn't have measurements immediately before the blocking, but there are failed measurements from two networks starting at 2022-03-13 16:44 UTC / 19:44 MSK.

https://explorer.ooni.org/search?since=2022-03-06&until=2022-03-14&failure=false&domain=instagram.com&probe_cc=RU&test_name=web_connectivity

Screenshot of OONI explorer search results for instagram.com in Russia between 2022-03-06 and 2022-03-14

In a press release from two days ago, Roskomnadzor had announced an intention to block Instagram at 2022-03-14 00:00 (Moscow time, presumably). As of this post, it's about 01:20, a little past that deadline—but it sounds like some networks had begun to block Instagram a few hours early.

https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news74180.htm (archive)

Об ограничении доступа к социальной сети Instagram

11 марта 2022 года

Как известно, 11 марта компания Meta Platforms Inc. приняла беспрецедентное решение, разрешив в своих социальных сетях Facebook и Instagram размещение информации, содержащей призывы к насилию против российских граждан.

В социальной сети Instagram распространяются сообщения, поощряющие и провоцирующие совершение насильственных действий в отношении россиян, в связи с чем Генеральная прокуратура России потребовала от Роскомнадзора ограничить доступ к этой социальной сети.

Поскольку для активных пользователей Instagram потребуется время для переноса своих фото- и видеоматериалов в другие социальные сети, уведомления своих контактов и подписчиков, Роскомнадзор принял решение о завершении процедуры введения ограничений на доступ к Instagram в 00 часов 14 марта, предусмотрев для пользователей дополнительные 48 часов переходного периода.

On restricting access to the social network Instagram

March 11, 2022

As we know, on March 11 Meta Platforms Inc. made an unprecedented decision, allowing its social networks Facebook and Instagram to post information containing calls for violence against Russian citizens.

Posts encouraging and provoking the commission of violent acts against Russians are spreading on the social network Instagram, in connection with which the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia demanded that Roskomnadzor restrict access to this social network.

Since it would take time for active Instagram users to transfer their photos and videos to other social networks and notify their contacts and followers, Roskomnadzor decided to end the procedure for imposing restrictions on Instagram access at 00 hours on March 14, providing users with an additional 48-hour transition period.

Here is a news article: https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/11/22972869/instagram-ban-russia-ukraine-facebook-whatsapp-meta (archive).

wkrp commented 2 years ago

Roskomnadzor published a press release today demanding that YouTube remove restrictions on certain channels. They do not, however, say what will happen if the demand is not met.

Because I was not aware, ВГТРК = Всероссийская государственная телевизионная и радиовещательная компания = All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.

https://ntc.party/t/youtube/1929/3

https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news74184.htm (archive)

Роскомнадзор потребовал незамедлительно восстановить доступ к YouTube-каналам «Советское телевидение. Гостелерадиофонд»

14 марта 2022 года

Роскомнадзор потребовал от Google LLC в максимально короткие сроки снять наложенные ограничения на YouTube-каналы «Советское телевидение. Гостелерадиофонд», проинформировать об этом ведомство, а также обозначить причины блокировки указанных каналов.

Ранее Роскомнадзор выявил факт ограничения администрацией видеохостинга YouTube доступа к каналам «Советское телевидение. Гостелерадиофонд» и «Советское радио. Гостелерадиофонд». Такие действия администрации видеохостинга в корне нарушают ключевые принципы свободного распространения информации и беспрепятственного доступа к ней. Ведомство считает недопустимыми какие-либо ограничения в отношении указанных каналов.

Государственный фонд телевизионных и радиопрограмм (Гостелерадиофонд) — это филиал телерадиокомпании ВГТРК, предоставляет доступ к крупнейшему мировому архиву видео- и аудиоматериалов российского и советского производства ХХ–XXI веков.

Всего с апреля 2020 года Роскомнадзор зафиксировал 36 фактов ограничения видеохостингом YouTube официальных каналов российских СМИ, общественных деятелей, спортивных команд и просветительских проектов. Иностранные интернет-ресурсы наглядно демонстрируют, что дискриминация направлена не только против политиков или средств массовой информации, а против всего российского. В данном случае, против истории и культуры нашей страны.

Roskomnadzor demanded immediate restoration of access to YouTube channels "Soviet Television. Gosteleradiofond"

March 14, 2022

Roskomnadzor demanded that Google LLC lift the restrictions imposed on YouTube channels "Soviet Television. Gosteleradiofond", to inform the agency about it, as well as to indicate the reasons for blocking these channels.

Earlier Roskomnadzor revealed the fact of YouTube video hosting administration's restriction of access to the channels "Soviet Television. Gosteleradiofond" and "Soviet Radio. Gosteleradiofond". Such actions by the administration of the video hosting site fundamentally violate the key principles of the free dissemination of information and unimpeded access to it. The Ministry considers any restrictions on these channels unacceptable.

State Fund of Television and Radio Programs (Gosteleradiofond) - a branch of the TV and radio company VGTRK, provides access to the world's largest archive of video and audio materials of Russian and Soviet production of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Since April 2020, Roskomnadzor has recorded a total of 36 cases of YouTube restricting official channels of Russian media, public figures, sports teams and educational projects. Foreign Internet resources clearly demonstrate that discrimination is directed not only against politicians or the media, but against the entire Russian Federation. In this case, against the history and culture of our country.

wkrp commented 2 years ago

On 2022-03-21, the Tverskoi district court labeled Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) an "extremist organization". My understanding is that this is a special legal category that prohibits Meta from operating in Russia. However, the decision explicitly excludes WhatsApp, focusing instead on Facebook and Instagram.

It's not clear what practical effect the decision will have, seeing as Facebook and Instagram had already been banned and blocked at the network level in the past weeks.

I have only found news articles about this. I looked for, but did not find (or did not know how to find), any primary source document created by the court. I tried looking at http://mos-gorsud.ru/rs/tverskoj and http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/.

I think TASS was the first to report:

https://tass.ru/obschestvo/14135585 (archive)

Суд запретил в России Instagram и Facebook за экстремистскую деятельность

Как отметила судья Ольга Солопова, решение о запрете вступает в силу немедленно

МОСКВА, 21 марта. /ТАСС/. Тверской суд Москвы в понедельник признал деятельность социальных сетей Instagram и Facebook, принадлежащих компании Meta Platforms, экстремистской и запретил их на территории России, передает корреспондент ТАСС.

"Удовлетворить исковые требования Генеральной прокуратуры о запрете деятельности компании Meta", - огласила постановление судья Ольга Солопова.

Как отметила судья, решение о запрете вступает в силу немедленно. Ранее на этом настаивала ФСБ России.

Как пояснил ранее прокурор, в отношении принадлежащего Meta мессенджера WhatsApp требования не распространяются. Кроме того, граждане и организации не будут привлекаться к ответственности за экстремизм за то, что пользуются Facebook и Instagram. "Использование продуктов компании Meta физическими и юридическими лицами не должно рассматриваться как участие в экстремистской деятельности", - пояснил представитель прокуратуры. "Лица не будут привлекаться к ответственности только за то, что они пользуются услугами Meta", - добавил он.

В то же время компании Meta запрещено открывать отделения и вести коммерческую деятельность в России. В Генпрокуратуре и ФСБ считают, что деятельность Meta направлена против России и ее вооруженных сил.

Основанием для обращения Генпрокуратуры в суд стало временное снятие запрета для жителей ряда стран на размещение информации, содержащей призывы к насилию против российских граждан. Следственный комитет России возбудил уголовное дело о призывах к насилию и убийствам в отношении россиян в связи с действиями сотрудников компании. Ранее Роскомнадзор уже ограничил работу Instagram и Facebook в РФ. Работу мессенджера WhatsApp было решено не ограничивать.

The court banned Instagram and Facebook in Russia for extremist activities

As noted by Judge Olga Solopova, the decision to ban comes into force immediately

MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. A Tverskoi court in Moscow on Monday ruled that the activities of social networks Instagram and Facebook owned by Meta Platforms are extremist and banned them in Russia, a TASS correspondent said.

"Satisfy the claims of the Prosecutor General's Office to ban the activities of Meta," Judge Olga Solopova announced the ruling.

As the judge noted, the decision to ban comes into force immediately. Earlier, the FSB of Russia insisted on it.

As previously explained by the prosecutor, the requirements do not apply to the messenger WhatsApp, owned by Meta. In addition, citizens and organizations will not be prosecuted for extremism for using Facebook and Instagram. "The use of Meta products by individuals and legal entities should not be considered participation in extremist activities," explained a representative of the prosecutor's office. "Individuals will not be prosecuted just for using Meta's services," he added.

At the same time, Meta is prohibited from opening branches and conducting commercial activities in Russia. The Prosecutor General's Office and the FSB believe that Meta's activities are directed against Russia and its armed forces.

The reason for the Prosecutor General's Office's appeal to court was the temporary lifting of the ban for residents of a number of countries to post information containing calls for violence against Russian citizens. Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case about calls for violence and murder against Russians in connection with the actions of the company's employees. Earlier Roskomnadzor had already restricted the work of Instagram and Facebook in Russia. The work of the messenger WhatsApp was decided not to limit.

Reuters has a good summary in English with added commentary and background:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-asks-russian-court-dismiss-proceedings-extremism-case-reports-2022-03-21/ (archive)

Russia finds Meta guilty of 'extremist activity' but WhatsApp can stay

March 21 (Reuters) - A Moscow court said on Monday that Meta (FB.O) was guilty of "extremist activity", but the ruling will not affect its WhatsApp messenger service, focusing on the U.S. firm's already-banned Facebook and Instagram social networks.

Late on Monday, communications regulator Roskomnadzor said it will exclude Meta from the list of foreign entities operating on the Internet in Russia, and Instagram and Facebook from the register of social networks, according to news agencies.

Roskomnadzor also said that Russian media must label Meta and its social networks as prohibited when distributing information and are forbidden to display their logos.

Russia has in the past designated groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State as "extremist" but later expanded this to the Jehovah's Witnesses and jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

The implications of the ruling remain unclear as Facebook and Instagram are already banned in Russia and the court said WhatsApp would be unaffected by its ruling.

BBC Russia similarly has commentary in Russian:

https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-60821583 (archive)

Чем это грозит россиянам / How this threatens Russians
Хотя использование соцсетей не будет считаться нарушением закона, в теории логотипы Facebook, FB Messenger и Instagram должны оказаться под запретом. Россия может признать Meta экстремистской организацией. Чем это грозит пользователям Facebook и Instagram? Это касается и любых денежных транзакций в адрес компаний, подконтрольных Meta. Власти могут также потребовать от Apple и Google удалить приложения соцсетей Meta из AppStore и Google Play, считают юристы. Сразу после решения суда государственное издание RT на русском убрало логотипы попавших под запрет социальных сетей со своего сайта. На сайте президента России в настоящее время также остались ссылки только на Twitter и YouTube (Twitter был заблокирован Роскомнадзором 4 марта).
Although the use of social networks will not be considered a violation of the law, in theory the logos of Facebook, FB Messenger and Instagram should be banned. Russia could declare Meta an extremist organization. What does this mean for Facebook and Instagram users? This also applies to any money transactions to Meta-controlled companies. The authorities may also require Apple and Google to remove the applications of social network Meta from the AppStore and Google Play, the lawyers say. Immediately after the court ruling, the state-run RT in Russian removed the logos of the banned social networks from its website. Links to Twitter and YouTube are now also left on the website of the President of Russia (Twitter was blocked by Roskomnadzor on March 4).

More background articles from Pravo.ru:

https://pravo.ru/news/239885/ (archive)

2022-03-21 Суд отказался прекратить производство по иску Генпрокуратуры к Meta / The court refused to terminate proceedings on the suit of the Prosecutor General's Office against Meta
Суд отказался прекратить производство по иску Генпрокуратуры к Meta Адвокат социальной сети заявляла, что ей не дали достаточно времени на ознакомление с делом и подготовку правовой позиции. В отложении разбирательства ей тоже отказали. 21 марта Тверской районный суд начал рассматривать иск Генеральной прокуратуры о признании Meta Рlatforms Inc. экстремистской организацией и о запрете ее деятельности на территории России. Представители компании просили прекратить производство по делу, так как она нерезидент и иностранное юрлицо, передают «Известия». У московского суда нет над ней юрисдикции. Как отмечает представляющая интересы Meta адвокат Виктория Шакина, компания и так не может распространять на территории РФ рекламу, так как Роскомнадзор уже заблокировал доступ к Facebook и Instagram для россиян. Кроме того, представители Meta попросили отложить заседание. Об иске им стало известно только 13 марта, а потому они не успели подготовить правовую позицию и собрать необходимые доказательства. Шакина отметила, что закон предоставляет ответчику не менее 15 дней на это. К тому же дело в отношении компании насчитывает свыше 500 страниц, ознакомиться с ним за несколько дней было невозможно, настаивает адвокат. Meta также просит провести лингвистическую экспертизу высказывания пресс-секретаря компании Энди Стоуна, который 11 марта заявил, что Facebook и Instagram разрешат призывы к насилию против российских военных, вопреки стандартным правилам платформ. Позднее вице-президент компании Ник Клегг уточнил, что политика Meta «направлена на защиту права на свободу слова как проявления самообороны» для украинцев, но она не подразумевает запугивания и русофобии. РКН заблокировал Facebook 4-го, а Instagram — 14 марта. UPDATE Тверской суд отказал как в прекращении рассмотрения дела, так и в переносе заседания, передает ТАСС.
The lawyer of the social network stated that she was not given enough time to get acquainted with the case and prepare a legal position. She was also denied an adjournment of the proceedings. On March 21, the Tverskoi District Court began to consider the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office to recognize Meta Platforms Inc. as an extremist organization and to ban its activities in Russia. Representatives of the company requested that the proceedings be terminated because it is a non-resident and a foreign legal entity, Izvestia reports. A Moscow court has no jurisdiction over it. As noted by lawyer Victoria Shakina, who represents the interests of Meta, the company already cannot distribute advertising on the territory of the Russian Federation, as Roskomnadzor has already blocked access to Facebook and Instagram for Russians. In addition, representatives of Meta asked to postpone the meeting. They became aware of the claim only on March 13, and therefore they did not have time to prepare a legal position and collect the necessary evidence. Shakina noted that the law allows the defendant not less than 15 days for this. Besides, the case against the company was more than 500 pages long and it was impossible to study it in a couple of days, the lawyer insisted. Meta also requested a linguistic review of a statement made by company spokesman Andy Stone, who said on March 11 that Facebook and Instagram would allow calls for violence against the Russian military, contrary to the standard rules of the platforms. The company's vice president Nick Clegg later clarified that Meta's policy "aims to protect the right to free speech as a manifestation of self-defense" for Ukrainians, but it does not involve intimidation or Russophobia. RKN blocked Facebook on March 4 and Instagram on March 14. UPDATE The Tverskoi court refused both to dismiss the case and to postpone the hearing, TASS reported.

https://pravo.ru/news/239896/ (archive)

2022-03-21 Meta признали экстремистской организацией / Meta was declared an extremist organization

Суд отклонил все ходатайства защиты. При этом WhatsApp пообещали не блокировать, а за пользование «экстремистскими» соцсетями не наказывать.

21 марта Тверской районный суд по требованию Генеральной прокуратуры признал американскую Meta Рlatforms Inc. экстремистской организацией, запрещенной на территории РФ. Это решение вступило в силу немедленно, передает ТАСС. 11 марта пресс-секретарь компании Энди Стоун заявил, что Facebook и Instagram, которые принадлежат Meta, разрешат призывы к насилию против российских военных, вопреки стандартным правилам платформ. Позднее вице-президент компании Ник Клегг уточнил, что политика Meta «направлена на защиту права на свободу слова как проявления самообороны» для украинцев, но она не подразумевает запугивания и русофобии. В связи с этим российская Генеральная прокуратура обратилась в суд и потребовала признать компанию экстремистской организацией. Кроме того, Следственный комитет возбудил уголовное дело в отношении глав корпорации по признакам публичных призывов к экстремизму (ст. 280 УК) и содействия терроризму (ст. 205.1 УК). Адвокат компании Виктория Шакина утверждала, что у российского суда нет юрисдикции над зарегистрированной за рубежом Meta, и просила прекратить производство. Суд в этом отказал. Судья Ольга Солопова также не согласилась отложить рассмотрение: защита корпорации утверждала, что с 13 марта не могла надлежащим образом ознакомиться с 500-страничным делом. РКН заблокировал Facebook 4-го, а Instagram — 14 марта. В ходе судебного разбирательства прокуратура уточнила, что мессенджер WhatsApp, который также подконтролен Meta, не подвергнется блокировке. Использование заблокированных соцсетей россиянами не будет считаться экстремистской деятельностью.

The court rejected all the motions of the defense. At the same time WhatsApp was promised not to block and not to punish for the use of "extremist" social networks.

On March 21 the Tverskoi district court on demand of the Prosecutor General's Office recognized the American Meta Platforms Inc. as an extremist organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation. The decision went into effect immediately, TASS reported. On March 11, company spokesman Andy Stone said that Facebook and Instagram, which are owned by Meta, would allow calls for violence against the Russian military, contrary to the standard rules of the platforms. Later, company vice president Nick Clegg clarified that Meta's policy "aims to protect the right to free speech as a manifestation of self-defense" for Ukrainians, but it does not imply intimidation or Russophobia. In this connection, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office went to court and demanded that the company be recognized as an extremist organization. In addition, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the heads of the corporation on the grounds of public calls for extremism (Art. 280 of the Criminal Code) and promotion of terrorism (Art. 205.1 of the Criminal Code). The company's lawyer Viktoria Shakina argued that the Russian court had no jurisdiction over Meta, which was registered abroad, and asked to stop the proceedings. The court refused to do so. Judge Olga Solopova also did not agree to postpone the hearing: the corporation's defense argued that she had not been able to properly review the 500-page case since March 13. RKN blocked Facebook on the 4th and Instagram on the 14th of March. During the trial, prosecutors clarified that messenger WhatsApp, which is also controlled by Meta, would not be blocked. The use of blocked social networks by Russians will not be considered extremist activity.

https://pravo.ru/news/239911/ (archive)

2022-03-22 РКН запретил демонстрацию логотипов Facebook и Instagram / RKN banned the display of Facebook and Instagram logos

Социальные сети нужно будет маркировать как запрещенные в РФ, но на использующих их россиянах это никак не скажется, пояснили в ведомстве.

Роскомнадзор запретил российским средствам массовой информации демонстрировать логотип компании Meta Рlatforms Inc., а также принадлежащих ей социальных сетей Facebook и Instagram. Об этом сообщил ТАСС со ссылкой на ответ надзорного ведомства. Накануне Тверской райсуд признал Meta экстремистской и запретил ее деятельность в России. Кроме того, СМИ обязаны маркировать Meta и подконтрольные ей социальные сети как запрещенную организацию, сообщили в Роскомнадзоре. После того как Министерство юстиции внесет организацию в реестр запрещенных, за отсутствие такой маркировки будет наступать ответственность. Сам РКН исключит Facebook и Instagram из реестра социальных сетей, а Meta Рlatforms Inc. — из реестра иностранных компаний, которые ведут деятельность в интернете на территории РФ. В то же время физические и юридические лица, которые не преследуют экстремистских целей, могут пользоваться этими соцсетями без ограничений, подчеркнули в РКН. Суд признал Meta Рlatforms Inc. экстремистской организацией в связи с заявлением ее пресс-секретаря Энди Стоуна о том, что для украинцев в соцсетях компании снимут запреты на призывы к насилию в отношении военнослужащих из России. По этому факту также возбуждено уголовное дело в отношении глав корпорации по признакам публичных призывов к экстремизму (ст. 280 УК) и содействия терроризму (ст. 205.1 УК).

Social networks will have to be labeled as banned in Russia, but this will not affect Russians who use them, the agency explained.

Roskomnadzor has banned Russian media from displaying the logo of the company Meta Platforms Inc. as well as the social networks Facebook and Instagram owned by it. This was reported by TASS, citing a response from the supervisory authority. On the eve of the Tverskoi district court found Meta extremist and banned its activities in Russia. In addition, the media are obliged to mark Meta and social networks under its control as a banned organization, said Roskomnadzor. After the Ministry of Justice has included the organization in the register of banned organizations, the lack of such labeling will be punishable. RKN itself will remove Facebook and Instagram from the register of social networks, and Meta Platforms Inc. - from the register of foreign companies operating in the Internet on the territory of the Russian Federation. At the same time, individuals and legal entities who are not pursuing extremist goals may use these social networks without restrictions, RKN stressed. The court recognized Meta Platforms Inc. as an extremist organization in connection with the statement of its spokesman Andy Stone that for Ukrainians in the social networks of the company will lift the ban on calls for violence against military personnel from Russia. A criminal case was also opened against the heads of the corporation on the grounds of public calls for extremism (Art. 280 of the Criminal Code) and promotion of terrorism (Art. 205.1 of the Criminal Code).
wkrp commented 2 years ago

Facebook and Instagram nameservers are blocked, by IPv4 and IPv6 address, in the blocking registry since 2022-04-03.

https://reestr.rublacklist.net/record/4217327/

Here are names that correspond to the listed IP addresses:

IP addresses domain names
31.13.72.174 instagram-p42-shv-01-arn2.fbcdn.net
129.134.30.12 2a03:2880:f0fc:c:face:b00c:0:35 a.ns.facebook.com a.ns.instagram.com
129.134.31.12 2a03:2880:f0fd:c:face:b00c:0:35 b.ns.facebook.com b.ns.instagram.com
185.89.218.12 2a03:2880:f1fc:c:face:b00c:0:35 c.ns.facebook.com c.ns.instagram.com
185.89.219.12 d.ns.facebook.com d.ns.instagram.com

For whatever reason, the IPv6 address for d.ns.facebook.com and d.ns.instagram.com, 2a03:2880:f1fd:c:face:b00c:0:35, is not listed in the same record.

https://ntc.party/t/facebook/1722/19

wkrp commented 2 years ago

There is a NTC thread from 2022-05-22 with clear evidence of SNI-based throttling of *.googlevideo.com domains (used by YouTube), only in the Lukahansk People's Republic (ЛНР or LNR). Even a Russia-based VPN suffices to avoid the throttling, suggesting that the throttling occurs in this region only. Tools like GoodbyeDPI and Zapret also work, if you add googlevideo.com to the list of blocked domains.

https://ntc.party/t/youtube/2476

The evidence is different transfer rates when downloading using an SNI under googlevideo.com, versus when accessing the server by IP address and including googlevideo.com only in the Host header.

https://tjournal.ru/news/630820-internet-provaydery-iz-lnr-soobshchili-o-sboyah-v-rabote-youtube-polzovateli-schitayut-chto-servis-nachali-blokirovat (archive)

Интернет-провайдеры из ЛНР сообщили о сбоях в работе YouTube. Пользователи считают, что сервис начали блокировать

По словам пользователей, сайт открывается без проблем, но видео иначе как в качестве 144p «смотреть невозможно» – оно не грузится.

22 мая луганский интернет-провайдер «Республиканские цифровые коммуникации» сообщил в своей группе «ВКонтакте» о сбое в работе сервиса YouTube, из-за которого «наблюдается медленная загрузка видео и страниц».

23 мая аналогичное сообщение появилось на официальном сайте провайдера «Магеал» — там отметили, что сроки восстановления доступа к YouTube неизвестны.

На замедление работы YouTube пожаловались участники форума NTC. По словам пользователя Delion, проблемы с доступом начались 22 мая вечером, но провайдеры «отнекиваются» — приходится смотреть YouTube через VPN. При том VPN подходит даже российский, что может говорить о том, что сайт замедляют конкретно на территории ЛНР.

Internet providers from the LNR reported disruptions in the work of YouTube. Users believe the service has been blocked

According to users, the site opens without problems, but videos other than in 144p quality "are impossible to watch" - they do not load.

On May 22, the Luhansk Internet provider "Republican Digital Communications" reported in its "VKontakte" group about a failure in the work of the YouTube service, due to which "slow loading of videos and pages is observed.

*On May 23, a similar message appeared on the official website of the provider "Mageal" - they noted that the restoration of access to YouTube is unknown.

YouTube slowdown was also complained about by members of the NTC forum. According to user Delion, the problems with access began on May 22 evening, but the providers "deny" - you have to watch YouTube via VPN. Moreover, even a Russian VPN is suitable, which may indicate that the site is being slowed down specifically in the LNR.

wkrp commented 1 year ago

Roskomsvoboda and OONI have a new report that reflects on changes in censorship in Russia in the 1 year since the war started. The first part is analysis of the legal environment and the nature of blocking; the second part is charts showing the blocking (and in some cases unblocking) of various sites, according to the OONI Web Connectivity test.

How Internet censorship changed in Russia during the 1st year of military conflict in Ukraine Год военной цензуры в России

Some interesting passages:

https://ooni.org/post/2023-russia-a-year-after-the-conflict/#censorship-context

There was a record number of blocks in 2022. More than 247,492 URLs were added to Roskomnadzor’s registry of banned websites in 2022.

Blocking mirror sites:

https://ooni.org/post/2023-russia-a-year-after-the-conflict/#legal-environment

In August, the Ministry of Digital Transformation published documents proposing to empower Roskomnadzor to block mirrors of previously blocked sites. The Decree will come into force on March 1st, 2023 and will be valid for 6 years, however the mirrors of the media websites are being consistently blocked since February 2022.

Search engines using the register of blocked sites:

https://ooni.org/post/2023-russia-a-year-after-the-conflict/#media-censorship

…since April 2022, media blocked in Russia have ceased to be shown in search results by Russian search engines: Yandex, Mail.ru and Rambler. Yandex explained that they remove all links that Roskomnadzor enters into the registry of prohibited websites from their search results.

Sanctions affecting independent media in Russia:

Back in early March last year, two major Russian media outlets, Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd, were blocked. In the result, radio station Echo Moskvy faced censorship from two sides at once: the Prosecutor General’s Office censored it because of the coverage of hostilities in Ukraine, and Google restricted access to its YouTube channel for EU residents because of radio’s connection with Gazprom-Media.

However, none of these solutions became permanent and many media are continuing to struggle to get access to their audiences. Due to the implied sanctions it’s not possible to pay for non-Russian services using Russian payment systems, therefore the readers cannot donate money to the international bank accounts, and they cannot donate to the Russian bank accounts if they access the donation page through a VPN – Russian banks consider this an international transfer and do not accept the funds. At the same time, for some media, which are already labeled as foreign agents and who may become an ‘undesirable’ or ‘extremist’ organization, as in the case of Meduza, having financial relationships with Russian organizations or individuals brings risks for them becoming ‘supporters’ of an extremist organization and facing criminal charges.

Blocks that are not on the official register:

https://ooni.org/post/2023-russia-a-year-after-the-conflict/#blocks-that-are-inconsistent-with-russias-official-blocklist

We found 48 confirmed blocked domains based on OONI data, which are not included in Russia’s official blocking registry. The list of these 48 domains (along with relevant OONI measurements) is available through this CSV.

Including a temporary block in one ISP of ajax.aspnetcdn.com, which is often used for domain-fronting circumvention:

Notably, OONI data shows the blocking of a major CDN (ajax.aspnetcdn.com), which is also not included in Rosmonadzor’s blocking registry.

This case is not included in our list of 48 blocked domains, because the block was not implemented via a block page and hence we could not automatically detect it. We analyzed this case manually, and found that connections to ajax.aspnetcdn.com were reset on some networks. While the block does not appear to be ongoing on tested networks, it’s worth noting that blocking a popular CDN could result in collateral damage. In practice, the impact of blocking ajax.aspnetcdn.com is that many websites that use it to deliver JS assets (like jQuery) would probably break.

mmmray commented 8 months ago

beginning of June 2023, Roskomnadzor has sent abuse reports to a few operators of nitter Asked for specific accounts to be blocked. Hetzner did not take it seriously at all and I don't know of any instance that complied. I can post the specific email and wording if relevant, it's in Russian and very legalese-heavy.

wkrp commented 8 months ago

beginning of June 2023, Roskomnadzor has sent abuse reports to a few operators of nitter Asked for specific accounts to be blocked. Hetzner did not take it seriously at all and I don't know of any instance that complied. I can post the specific email and wording if relevant, it's in Russian and very legalese-heavy.

It may be interesting to see the list of account names, if that's safe to share. I'm guessing that blocking of specific Twitter accounts is not something that would appear on the unified register, since that's something that has to be negotiated with the end server and can't easily be enforced by a middlebox.

ValdikSS commented 8 months ago

The better way to check the Registry is Roscomsvoboda's search engine https://reestr.rublacklist.net/en/

AFAIR many Invidious instances are blocked, not sure about Nitter.

wkrp commented 8 months ago

I see, thanks. If I understand @mmmray, the letter was not about blocking access to Nitter servers, but asking the operators of those servers to block some specific accounts. (The same way e.g. the CAC in China writes a letter to Apple and gets Apple to remove apps from the app store.) Presumably Roskomnadzor already sent the list of accounts to block in Russia directly to Twitter, now they are also sending it to third-party sites that give access to Twitter. That could mean Roskomnadzor has a list, separate from the URL/IP list, of account names to ask operators to block.

mmmray commented 8 months ago

TLDR: The twitter accounts were azov_media and azov_one.

abuse report 1 ``` На основании требования Генерального прокурора Российской Федерации или его заместителя о принятии мер по ограничению доступа к информационным ресурсам от 20.02.2023 № 27-31-2023/Ид2617-23 направляется уведомление о нарушении порядка распространения информации, размещённой по следующим URL-адресам: https://REDACTED/azov_media Провайдер хостинга или иное лицо, обеспечивающее размещение данного информационного ресурса в сети «Интернет», обязаны: 1) незамедлительно с момента получения настоящего уведомления проинформировать владельца информационного ресурса о необходимости незамедлительного удаления распространяемой с нарушением закона информации; 2) по истечении суток с момента получения настоящего уведомления ограничить доступ к указанному информационному ресурсу в случае отказа или бездействия владельца информационного ресурса в удалении распространяемой с нарушением закона информации. Владелец информационного ресурса обязан в течение суток с момента получения соответствующего уведомления от провайдера хостинга или указанного иного лица удалить распространяемую с нарушением закона информацию. С уважением, Федеральная служба по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций Based on the requirement of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy to take measures to restrict access to information resources dated 20.02.2023 № 27-31-2023/Ид2617-23 a notification is sent about a violation of the distribution of information posted at the following URLs: https://REDACTED/azov_media The hosting provider or another person ensuring the placement of the specified information resource on the Internet is obliged: 1) immediately after receiving this notice, inform the owner of the information resource about the need to immediately delete the information disseminated in violation of the law; 2) in case of refusal or inaction of the owner of the information resource to delete the information disseminated in violation of the law, after 24 hours from the date of receipt of this notification, restrict access to the specified information resource. The owner of the information resource is obliged to delete information disseminated in violation of the law within 24 hours from the date of receipt of the relevant notification from the hosting provider or another person. Sincerely, The Federal service for supervision of communications, information technology, and mass media ```
abuse report 2 ``` На основании требования Генерального прокурора Российской Федерации или его заместителя о принятии мер по ограничению доступа к информационным ресурсам от 20.02.2023 № 27-31-2023/Ид2617-23 направляется уведомление о нарушении порядка распространения информации, размещённой по следующим URL-адресам: https://REDACTED/Azov_one Провайдер хостинга или иное лицо, обеспечивающее размещение данного информационного ресурса в сети «Интернет», обязаны: 1) незамедлительно с момента получения настоящего уведомления проинформировать владельца информационного ресурса о необходимости незамедлительного удаления распространяемой с нарушением закона информации; 2) по истечении суток с момента получения настоящего уведомления ограничить доступ к указанному информационному ресурсу в случае отказа или бездействия владельца информационного ресурса в удалении распространяемой с нарушением закона информации. Владелец информационного ресурса обязан в течение суток с момента получения соответствующего уведомления от провайдера хостинга или указанного иного лица удалить распространяемую с нарушением закона информацию. С уважением, Федеральная служба по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций Based on the requirement of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy to take measures to restrict access to information resources dated 20.02.2023 № 27-31-2023/Ид2617-23 a notification is sent about a violation of the distribution of information posted at the following URLs: https://REDACTED/Azov_one The hosting provider or another person ensuring the placement of the specified information resource on the Internet is obliged: 1) immediately after receiving this notice, inform the owner of the information resource about the need to immediately delete the information disseminated in violation of the law; 2) in case of refusal or inaction of the owner of the information resource to delete the information disseminated in violation of the law, after 24 hours from the date of receipt of this notification, restrict access to the specified information resource. The owner of the information resource is obliged to delete information disseminated in violation of the law within 24 hours from the date of receipt of the relevant notification from the hosting provider or another person. Sincerely, The Federal service for supervision of communications, information technology, and mass media ```
mmmray commented 8 months ago

the letter was not about blocking access to Nitter servers, but asking the operators of those servers to block some specific accounts

Yes, and I have not heard of any instance being blacklisted even after noncompliance. China definitely blocks nitter (and pragmatically does not send abuse reports)