The Law “On Communications” recognizes means of bypassing blocking of illegal content as a threat, as they create conditions for illegal activities. Roskomnadzor warns that foreign owners of such services have access to all information that Russian users transmit through them. This includes voluntarily transferred personal data, financial information, and account passwords, which may be subject to scrutiny for subsequent use for fraudulent purposes, blackmail, and other illegal actions against the users themselves or their environment. The Regional Public Center for Internet Technologies (ROCIT) has released a series of videos to raise awareness of the risks associated with using VPN services. These videos depict scenarios such as a supermarket cashier knowing a customer’s personal information, a store clerk warning a man about his porn site visits, and a bartender listing all the details of a customer’s bank cards. Users of VPN services should be aware of the potential risks of compromising their personal information.
