{"id":48254,"date":"2022-05-07T09:22:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-07T09:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48254"},"modified":"2022-05-07T09:22:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T09:22:45","slug":"vpn-use-skyrockets-in-russia-during-ukraine-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48254","title":{"rendered":"VPN use skyrockets in Russia during Ukraine invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Millions of Russians are now getting access to information outside of the country with help from virtual private networks.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 7 May 2022<\/span>7 May 2022<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Russian citizens are turning to virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves in an effort to bypass state-controlled media reporting on the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, news reports say.<\/p>\n

VPNs \u2013 which hide users\u2019 identities and locations \u2013 are being downloaded in Russia by the hundreds of thousands a day after Russian authorities launched a crackdown on any media not towing the official line on the war, according to The Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Millions of Russians are now getting access to information outside of the country with help from VPNs, which could pose problems for the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin as the attack on Ukraine \u2013 described as a \u201cspecial military operation<\/a>\u201d \u2013 nears its third month.<\/p>\n

More than 1,000 internet sites have been restricted by Russian authorities \u2013 including Facebook, Instagram, and BBC News \u2013 since the conflict began, according to a survey<\/a>\u00a0by a VPN technology tracker.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what was going on around us,\u201d the Post quoted a man named Konstantin as saying. \u201cMany people in Russia simply watch TV and eat whatever the government is feeding them. I wanted to find out what was really happening.\u201d<\/p>\n