The Ministry of Digital Development is discussing introducing a restriction on foreign Internet traffic for Russian users, reports Forbes. The initiative may become part of a bill to reform the telecommunications industry. The assumption is that all traffic from foreign domains will pass through technical means to prevent threats, and the volume exceeding the set limit, which has not yet been set, will be limited. Restrictions may affect not only VPN services, but also Telegram, online games, app stores, as well as Android and iOS updates. According to experts, the main problem is the separation between "Russian" and "foreign" traffic by IP address. Thus, a corporate VPN can route data through Russian nodes, and a foreign service can serve content from a CDN server physically located in Moscow. If any traffic outside the Russian address is considered international, corporate channels, cloud services with foreign servers, and official data exchanges may be attacked. The billing systems of most operators are not ready to charge such traffic in real time. As a result, restrictions may affect access to legal services and impair the quality of communication. This is not the first time that the initiative has been voiced and integrated into the concept of developing "white lists", when the portal of government services, government websites, Mir, SBP, Yandex, Avito, Berries, Ozone, VK, Aeroflot, Russian Railways and other Russian services will remain accessible, and everything outside this area will be blocked to Russians. At the same time, according to experts, already now more than 60% of mobile Internet sessions in Russia go through "whitelists". The introduction of a limit on foreign traffic will bring the restrictions to a new level, and the next step will of course be to separate the "permitted" infrastructure for the electorate from the rest of the internet and, in fact, create a separate segment of the network, access to which will be regulated by the state.

The Ministry of Digital Development is discussing introducing a restriction on foreign Internet traffic for Russian users, reports Forbes. The initiative may become part of a bill to reform the telecommunications industry. The assumption is that all traffic from foreign domains will pass through technical means to prevent threats, and the volume exceeding the set limit, which has not yet been set, will be limited. Restrictions may affect not only VPN services, but also Telegram, online games, app stores, as well as Android and iOS updates. According to experts, the main problem is the separation between "Russian" and "foreign" traffic by IP address. Thus, a corporate VPN can route data through Russian nodes, and a foreign service can serve content from a CDN server physically located in Moscow. If any traffic outside the Russian address is considered international, corporate channels, cloud services with foreign servers, and official data exchanges may be attacked. The billing systems of most operators are not ready to charge such traffic in real time. As a result, restrictions may affect access to legal services and impair the quality of communication. This is not the first time that the initiative has been voiced and integrated into the concept of developing "white lists", when the portal of government services, government websites, Mir, SBP, Yandex, Avito, Berries, Ozone, VK, Aeroflot, Russian Railways and other Russian services will remain accessible, and everything outside this area will be blocked to Russians. At the same time, according to experts, already now more than 60% of mobile Internet sessions in Russia go through "whitelists". The introduction of a limit on foreign traffic will bring the restrictions to a new level, and the next step will of course be to separate the "permitted" infrastructure for the electorate from the rest of the internet and, in fact, create a separate segment of the network, access to which will be regulated by the state.