Shameful company: in which countries of the world social networks are prohibited. Cases of banning and blocking of social networks in the world

Hello, dear friends!

Tonight is an evening of sad news. A lot of them.

I really got the impression that they are going to block the Internet in Russia. And ALL =) Now I’ll tell you what’s the matter.

Have you heard the latest news about Telegram blocking? It’s unclear why (after all, as I said in my last article, I don’t use this messenger), but I often started writing something about Telegram, or more precisely about its “adventures” in Russia.

As Medusa reports:

Roskomnadzor asked the court to immediately block Telegram. This could happen as early as April 13th

It's funny, but April 13th is Friday. Just today a guy wrote to me in the comments that there is a reason to check the unluckiness of Friday the 13th. Let's check it out =)

But let's return to our Telegram. As you remember, the FSB wants to receive encryption keys, but the popular messenger does not give them away. That's the whole conflict, in a nutshell. I won't repeat myself.

By the way, opinions were divided regarding the blocking of Telegram:

someone thinks that it’s time to learn how to use a VPN, since soon everything in the world will be blocked, not just Durov’s project;

someone who will be blocked, but “through their fingers”;

and someone believes that they will let everything go (they will make some noise and forget);

and finally, there are those who think that the FSB will take away their keys.

A little humor

What do you think about this?

Google Blocking

Unexpected, right? We got to the “good corporation” itself. I learned this yesterday on Lenta.ru:

In the near future, not only Google resources, but also a huge number of sites on the Internet that use Google resources as website elements may stop opening partially or completely.

However, in fairness, I note that so far only Google’s technical domain has begun to be blocked in Russia. (By the way, the domain googleusercontent.com is not in the emergency situation of Roskomnadzor, and, in general, for some reason there is no information about this. But the media is full of headlines. Maybe... a duck?) At the moment, 10,000 sites and IP addresses have been blocked .

Let me remind you that Google is not only a search engine, it is also a huge number of services (for example, YouTube, which will also be blocked soon... probably), and, in the end, Android.

Also, Google is a cloud storage service. Many people have photos, documents, etc., etc. there. Will this also be reblocked soon? What should we do now? Should I switch to Yandex?

Website blocking law

Today, as it turned out, the State Duma finally approved a new bill “on blocking sites that discredit the honor and dignity of a person or organization.”

What is its essence? It's simple: a certain Vasya Pupkin goes to court and complains that a certain website has posted a publication that insults him and is a lie. The court studies the whole case and makes a decision - to delete the publication. If the site refuses, it is blocked.

It sounds nice and even correct, but what do we actually get?

But in reality, everything can result in very unpleasant stories when independent media are unable to conduct their investigations. More precisely, they will be able to conduct them, but they will not be able to publish the results if the courts consider them “discrediting someone’s honor.”

You know, I read all this, and I remembered the film with Tom Hanks “The Secret File”. An interesting film, by the way. So, in my opinion, there was a phrase that:

Journalism should serve the people, not the state.

In this regard, I think, what about the truth? How about multiple points of view? All? Kaput? It turns out that if Spiegel or the New York Times publishes an article about some of our small-town corrupt officials (for example), and here in Russia he gets out of it and complains about these newspapers to the court, will they be blocked? In theory, yes, and completely legal.

Of course there are loopholes:

use VPN and anonymizers;

post information again and again, on different resources (in quantity, so to speak).

But this is some kind of insanity.

VPN blocking

I also have a few words about VPNs and anonymizers. There are rumors that they will get rid of them too. However, it is still unclear exactly how.

And what do we get as a result? A fully regulated Internet, where only those publications are posted that do not bother anyone. Is this good, do you think?

Law on social networks

But this is a new addition to the bill regulating social networks. From what is known at the moment, the picture is far from rosy. But let's take it in order (quote from Medusa):

And here a huge number of questions arise:

1. What is a “major social network”? Unknown. Essentially, any resource where users share photos, videos and other information may fall under the definition.
2. Now they can find me based on just one publication? Yes Easy. The phone number is “linked to the passport.”
3. Who decides that this or that post/comment is illegal? Hmm...it's up to the users first. If you find an illegal comment, complain to the resource administrator. If he hasn’t deleted it, complain to Roskomnadzor, they will sort it out there. (Will they?)
4. How will Roskomnadzor separate fake from non-fake? In theory, this will be done not by Roskomnadzor itself, but by various government departments that are affected by this or that news.

Something like that. I don’t know whether this will work for the good or not, but perhaps this law will be adopted. Here I agree with Medusa. Why wouldn’t it be accepted?

P.S. Information taken from the sites meduza.io and lenta.ru.

Today, the President of Ukraine, by decree No. 133/2017, put into effect one of the most controversial decisions of the National Security and Defense Council for society about blocking Russian Internet networks and Internet services in Ukraine.

The reason for such a radical step is the dissemination by Russian services of criminal information about the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Russian media companies used a two-pronged approach - for Russian consumers they presented occupied Crimea as if it were part of Russia, and for Ukrainian consumers they showed Crimea as part of Ukraine.

Also, an important reason for blocking is the conduct of information companies through blocked resources by Russian cyber troops that violate the national security of Ukraine.

Which Russian sites will be blocked in Ukraine?

The list of those prohibited from operating in Ukraine included 1,228 people and 468 Russian companies. In particular, according to the decree of the President of Ukraine, the following are prohibited from operating in Ukraine:

• social network Odnokrasniki;
• social network VKontakte;
• all Yandex Internet services (except search);
• all Internet services Mail.ru;
• Russian software (Kaspersky anti-virus, Doctor Web, 1C software package, etc.);

A complete list of Russian companies whose activities will be limited in Ukraine can be found on the website of the President of Ukraine.

Ukrtelecom stated that it has already begun preparations to block access to Russian resources specified in the presidential decree. The company's director of corporate communications, Mikhail Shuranov, noted that the phased blocking of Russian Internet services will be completed within a week.

Other Internet providers were not so radical and so far stated that they lack the technical capabilities to implement this decree.
The Internet Association has already stated that providers will face technical difficulties in limiting the functioning of Russian Internet projects in Ukraine. They see the main reason as the need to purchase expensive equipment that will completely block access to Russian information resources.

The Russian Internet provider in Ukraine, Triolan, said that it is not going to comply with Poroshenko’s decree and will wait for the reaction of the market, as well as the reaction of law enforcement agencies.

Some lawyers support the position of providers who refuse to comply with the decision of the President of Ukraine. They justify their considerations by the norm laid down in Art. 10, which obliges only government agencies, but not private companies, to execute presidential decrees.

"The decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, put into effect by decrees of the President of Ukraine, are mandatory for execution by executive authorities."

Executive Director of the Institute of Mass Information Oksana Romanyuk also stated that due to the lack of law and contradictory legal regulation, the main responsibility for blocking Russian information resources will be assigned to the judicial system, which in Ukraine is characterized by extreme unpredictability, red tape and politicization.

Meanwhile, all buttons for disseminating information through banned social networks have been removed from the website of the President of Ukraine. Poroshenko also said that he closed his pages on such networks.

What to do if the blocking is still put into effect?

A similar blocking of Ukrainian information resources has been in effect in Russia for more than three years, where, in connection with this, extensive experience has been developed in bypassing blocked resources.

1. You can buy an IP address of any country and bypass any restrictions through a VPN connection. The service costs from 50 UAH. for one IP address.
2. You can use browsers that support the function of creating an anonymous connection through built-in tools (Opera) or through plugins available for installation (Zenmate, Hola and others). You can also download and install the anonymous TOR browser, which is popular on the dark web.
3. You can also use various hacks and online services. However, this approach is only convenient for one-time use. For example, you can insert the Internet address into the Google Translator line and follow the link (you will, as it were, enter a prohibited resource through Google servers located in the blessed United States), you can also use online anonymizers.

Russia has already responded to Ukraine’s actions to ban Russian networks by threatening to apply the principle of reciprocity. Let us recall that Russia systematically blocks Ukrainian media for anti-Russian articles, and has also banned the activities of Ukrainian banks and financial systems that carry out transactions in Ukraine.

The Russian (actually Dutch) company Yandex will lose about 7 billion rubles in profit by blocking its activities in Ukraine, which is about 10% of its total revenue, reported Russian financial analyst Ilya Frolov.

In Ukraine, the Russian resources Mail.ru, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki, Yandex and other sites will be blocked for three years. This decision of the National Security and Defense Council was signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on May 15. While the sites are working, the providers promise to close access within a week.

Which sites will be blocked and when?

The decree lists sanctions against the developers of Russian antiviruses Kaspersky Lab, Dr. Web, all Yandex resources, including Kinopoisk, software developers ABBYY and 1C, VKontakte, Mail.ru and Odnoklassniki.

Director of Corporate Communications of Ukrtelecom Mikhail Shuranov notes that blocking of sites has already begun. By the end of the week, the provider will block all resources listed in the decree. Kyivstar also stated that the company is technically preparing to implement the decision of the National Security Council.

“The process is very complex and takes time, given the large amount of resources. The work has already begun. It will be carried out in stages and, according to preliminary estimates, will take from two days to a week,” said Mikhail Shuranov.

The National Security and Defense Council does not yet know how the ban will work. The NSDC website explains that sanctions were imposed against Internet resources because they threaten the country’s information security. The mechanism for blocking sites should be proposed by the Security Service.

Is it possible to bypass the ban?

Ukrtelecom commented that they would only block “regular” access to the site. This means that direct access to Russian sites will be closed, but it will remain possible to bypass the restrictions.

Ukrainian providers cannot completely ban access to websites, the Internet Association of Ukraine notes. It is not even possible to track who is bypassing the blocking, since the user's credentials can be changed. To completely block access to sites, providers will have to change equipment and software. According to the association’s estimates, this will take a year or two and $1 billion. If there is such a requirement, most operators will leave the market, and prices for Internet access will rise while quality falls, IAU experts predict.

"In Ukraine there are no structures similar to Roskomnadzor. There is no technical possibility to block specific addresses. Those who write these decrees do not think about how they will be implemented. This must be done through hundreds of Internet providers, starting with the largest, and at the largest there is Russian capital ("Kyivstar" - also known as "Vympelko") and start telling them that they should block specific addresses. In general, it will be fun," reacted the former director of "Yandex. Ukraine" Sergei Petrenko.

Digital security consultant and trainer Nikolai Kostinyan believes that Ukrainians will quickly find a way to circumvent the ban. By blocking websites, the government will only create a precedent, since the state has not used such a tool before.

“This is an ugly step on the part of the state. But it is not a fact yet that everything will be blocked. If this happens, then there will be a precedent - Ukraine can block and ban on the Internet. At one time, Russia limited access to Rutreker. Its traffic is not particularly has changed. Only on the main page there is a description of how to bypass the ban. In Ukraine, blocking sites is inappropriate. In general, this is a path to nowhere. The state can just as easily ban access to other resources and for other purposes. I am a supporter of a free Internet," Nikolay commented Kostinyan.

Reaction of Yandex, Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki to the ban

“The business of the Yandex group of companies, of course, is very large, and sanctions will not affect it. But we consider Ukraine an important part of our work and regret that the sanctions nullify all the many years of efforts of our team. The main victim of the sanctions is the Ukrainian user,” – commented the press service.

Odnoklassniki Director of Communications Anastasia Zhbanova said that the company will try to keep 9.5 million Ukrainian users connected: “We hope that the interests of our users will remain in first place. Together we will find a way to stay in touch, and 9.5 million Ukrainian OK users, our partners and advertisers will be able to use the social network’s services as they are used to,” she commented.

The head of communications at VKontakte in Ukraine, Vlad Legotkin, noted that the social network is visited by 16 million Ukrainians every month, and it has always been outside of politics: “Ukrainians have been communicating with their friends and relatives for ten years, uniting in communities based on personal and professional interests, sharing photos and thoughts. We, the VKontakte team, have always avoided politics. We believe that the Internet essentially has no boundaries. We have protected and will continue to protect the interests of all our users."

After VKontakte and Odnoklassniki were blocked in Ukraine, SMM specialists and small business owners who received income from sales on social networks began to worry the most. But Ukraine is far from the first country to block social networks. There are constant conversations about this in Russia; moreover, in the Russian Federation there is already a blocked social network and messenger Telegram. In this digest we will tell you how people live in countries where there is no access to social networks at all?

To bookmarks

Russia

On April 13, 2018, Telegram was blocked, Viber is under review. The Russian authorities are only teaching Russians to bypass the blocking -

On November 17, 2016, the largest social network Linkedin, which hosted many sales and networking events, was blocked. Is there life after lockdown? -

Ukraine

“Stop!” - remember this joke? Not in vain!

In May 2017, Ukraine imposed sanctions against Russian social networks. Yandex, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and Mail.ru were blocked -

North Korea

China

In 2014, Chinese authorities banned the Google search engine and all related services: Google Play, Google Maps, Gmail. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Yahoo and SoundCloud are also blocked in China. But at the same time they created analogues to social networks: Sina Weibo - Twitter, Youku - YouTube, Renren - Facebook, Camera360 - Instagram -

Saudi Arabia

Facebook was banned in Saudi Arabia in November 2010, and now Twitter is on the verge. This is not surprising, for example, a girl who posted a photograph on social networks with her head uncovered can easily be arrested for violating morality -

Pakistan

Iran

In 2017, Iran blocked access not only to resources such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but also to the Russian search engine Yandex. Iran has its own national social network Cloob.com with an interface in Farsi, very popular in Iran (even if there is nothing else) -

Turkmenistan

The Internet strictly blocks everything that is critical of the Turkmen government. In November 2013, the authorities of Turkmenistan blocked the messengers Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp, from time to time the resources are available, but in general the list of everything blocked is only growing -

Türkiye

In Turkey in 2016, in connection with the detention of 11 parliament members, providers blocked Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube. How else to stop discussions of authorities on social networks? -

Facebook representatives have decided to reveal all the reasons why your post on the social network may be deleted or blocked for a while. Texts, photos and videos - everything is now under the close supervision of Facebook management.

We decided to publish our internal standards for two reasons. First, it will help people understand exactly where we draw the line on controversial issues. Second, disclosing these details will make it easier to provide feedback, the statement said.

Almost any user who is not familiar with Facebook's tricky rules can become a violator, so the first time you make a mistake, you will only receive a warning. If non-compliance with the rules on your part continues, the page may be temporarily “frozen” or blocked forever - it all depends on the severity of the violation.

But you can appeal the decision if you do not consider your content dangerous or inappropriate. Since the company also employs people, the factor of ordinary human error cannot be ruled out, so any user can file an appeal.

If a photo or post is blocked, a notification about this should appear on your profile. Those who disagree with this decision can submit a request for a re-verification, which will be carried out within the next 24 hours.

We believe that giving people a voice in this process is an important component of building a fair system, said Monika Bickert, head of global policy at Facebook.

So, what posts can Facebook block you for:

Say no to violence!

The first thing is for sure subject to removal- these are posts, photographs and videos with a call to violence, with instructions on the manufacture or use of weapons, as well as with mention of prohibited terrorist organizations.

You cannot publish posts about committed or planned crimes, as well as photographs and videos of victims of violence or murder. The image of a dismembered body can only be present in a medical context, and even then not always.

Facebook understands that people often express their contempt through incitement to violence or insults in a humorous manner, so posts with such messages will be considered separately.

Naked and unfunny

Moderators pay special attention to posted photographs of children. If you want to please your subscribers with photos of your child, you should not post him naked on your feed, especially if she is a girl older than three or four years old and her breasts are not covered by clothes. However, other intimate parts of the body are also prohibited from being shown in photographs or videos.

Photos of adults must also meet a number of requirements. Images that show male and female genitalia are immediately blocked. An exception is naked female breasts if the photograph is of a purely medical nature.

Yabeda-koryabeda

Content that is intended to humiliate or disgrace specific individuals will be removed. We know that bullying is particularly dangerous for teenagers, so our policy provides increased protection for minors, as they are more susceptible to and vulnerable to online bullying, the document says.

Now Facebook will personally take on bullies who spread offensive information online about a person's appearance or lifestyle. Content in which the user tries to humiliate or disgrace specific individuals is also blocked.

This will especially apply to teenagers with a still fragile psyche, who can easily be enraged by almost any comment. Interestingly, a minor can himself file a complaint about content that he considers derogatory.

This includes hate speech and other “verbal expressions of hatred” based on race, gender, ethnicity, or religion. There are no clear criteria by which company employees will evaluate “hurtful and humiliating” messages.

However, the document emphasizes that Facebook's anti-bullying policy does not apply to celebrities or other people featured in the news or with a wide audience, as the social network wants to maintain the possibility of "public debate" involving critical discussion of such people.

It's personal

Another important change in Facebook is the introduction of privacy protection. It is now prohibited to publish other people's personal information on the social network, including car numbers, phone numbers and email addresses.

You also cannot distribute commercial spam or create fake accounts for the purpose of promoting organizations. How exactly Facebook employees will recognize fake pages is also not reported.

A total control system has already begun, and in the coming year, company representatives want to resolve all emerging problems and difficulties.

Given the global nature of our service, this can be difficult, which is why impartiality is so important: We strive to apply our standards consistently and fairly across all communities and cultures, Facebook concluded.

Recently, “Reedus” said that it is not so that law enforcement agencies will not be interested in you.