(Berlin, March 12, 2026) – Russian authorities have escalated their internet censorship efforts over the past month, Human Rights Watch said today, a day marked by free speech defenders as World Day Against Cyber Censorship. The government has blocked the most popular social media platform in Russia, coercing users to switch to a state-approved application, as well as circumvention tools.
“State control over internet infrastructure has long been the top priority for the Russian government,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The recent escalation of internet censorship raises serious concerns over the ability of people in Russia to access an open and free internet.”
On February 10, 2026, users in Russia started reporting difficulties accessing Telegram, one of the most popular messengers and social media platforms in the country. The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), responsible for internet censorship, confirmed the “gradual restrictions” on Telegram in relationto its failure to comply with Russia’s legislation. Russian media reported that the authorities are planning to block Telegram fully in April.
In August 2025, the authorities announced that they were blocking calls using Telegram and WhatsApp as a crime prevention move, claiming it was necessary to counteract scam calls and prevent the “involvement of Russians in sabotage and terrorist actions.” In 2018, Roskomnadzor obtained a court ruling to block Telegram based on a 2016 law requiring internet companies to hand over encryption keys to the government but later lifted the formal ban after unsuccessful attempts to block it. Roskomnadzor said that the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, had agreed to cooperate with the government on combating terrorism and extremism.
Durov, who is facing “aiding terrorist activities” criminal charges in Russia, said that the current effort by Russian authorities to block Telegram is “an attempt to force citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship.”
The platform MAX was created in March 2025 by VK, also known as Vkontakte, which is owned and controlled by companies and individuals with close ties to the Russian government. In July, the government appointed MAX, a “national multifunctional messenger,” which is a government program to create a platform integrating messenger functions with state services. The app includes features such as messaging, calls, and access to state services and digital documents. MAX can be used as an age verification tool on a digital marketplace.
In September, the government said that MAX should be preinstalled on all smartphones and tablets sold in Russia. The authorities and VK carried out a broad campaign to increase the number of MAX users, including via promotion by celebrities. Communications from schools and universities were mandatorily moved to MAX, and the government also coerced housing associations and maintenance services to switch to the app, including by threatening them with hefty fines. Russian users also reported being locked out of Gosuslugi, the digital state services portal, unless MAX is installed.
By February 2026, MAX had reached 77.5 million monthly users in Russia, compared with 95.7 million Telegram users and 80.3 million WhatsApp users. Telegram and WhatsApp had lost 280,000 and 9 million users, respectively, between January and February.
Both internet users and internet censorship experts have expressed concerns over the vast amounts of data collected by MAX, as well as overly the broad range of permissions requested by the app. In March, experts said that the app sent repeated requests from the device to WhatsApp and Telegram domains and has potentially checked whether the user’s device is connected to a VPN. MAX denied all allegations.
The Russian authorities continue to increase their technical capacities to achieve tighter information controls, Human Rights Watch said.
Since 2019, all internet service providers in the country are legally required to install the so-called “TSPU” equipment, distributed and controlled by the state. This technology allows authorities to intercept and manipulate internet traffic. It also allows for internet shutdowns, for instance, during public protests or drone attacks by the Ukrainian army.
Another component of the “sovereign internet law” is the national domain name system, which works as the address book for the internet, parallel to the international domain name system (DNS). In February, internet censorship experts noted that domains of at least 13 websites, including YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, The Moscow Times, and RFE/RL, disappeared from the national DNS registry, meaning that users will see that such websites do not exist when trying to connect to them via a national DNS.
In February 2026, Roskomnadzor confirmed that it had blocked 469 of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) services used to overcome internet censorship. Since December, the authorities have been blocking the three most popular VPN protocols. In January 2025, the Federal Antimonopoly Agency issued the first fine for advertising VPNs, in accordance with the ban on Internet advertising. Starting September 2025, Russian users can be fined for “intentionally” searching for “extremist” content on the internet, including via VPNs.
In February, President Vladimir Putin signed into law amendments allowing the Federal Security Service to require internet service providers to fully block internet and phone connections without a court order on grounds to be defined by the president.
The Russian authorities should respect and uphold freedom of expression under international law by ending all censorship of protected free expression on the internet. Any online regulation must meet the criteria of having a lawful basis and a legitimate purpose, while also being necessary and proportionate, meaning it is the least intrusive measure that can achieve the purpose. They should also disclose the technical specifications and capabilities of tools the authorities use to collect data and censor internet traffic.
“The rights to freedom of expression and access to information, offline and online, are rights guaranteed under international human rights law,” Williamson said. “And yet Russian authorities don’t hesitate to blatantly violate these rights.”
The European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and other states and intergovernmental organizations should support groups working to protect access to information in Russia, including VPN developers working to secure rights-respecting VPN services.
