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Freedom on the Net 2024: Russia
webCredibility Rating
4/5
High(4)High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Freedom House
Relevant to AI governance discussions around state control of information infrastructure, digital authoritarianism, and how repressive regimes may use AI-enabled surveillance and censorship tools to consolidate power.
Metadata
Importance: 35/100organizational reportanalysis
Summary
Freedom House's annual assessment of internet freedom in Russia, documenting the Russian government's extensive censorship, surveillance, and control over online information. The report covers restrictions on connectivity, content blocking, and violations of user rights including arrests of online users and use of digital tools for political repression.
Key Points
- •Russia maintains one of the most restrictive internet environments globally, with systematic blocking of independent news, social media, and VPNs
- •The Russian government uses SORM (deep packet inspection) infrastructure to conduct mass surveillance of online communications
- •Authorities prosecute citizens for online speech critical of the government, military, or Kremlin narratives, especially regarding the war in Ukraine
- •Russia's 'sovereign internet' (RuNet) infrastructure allows the state to technically isolate its internet from the global web
- •State-controlled or state-aligned platforms are promoted while foreign platforms face throttling, bans, or forced compliance with data localization laws
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Enabled Authoritarian Takeover | Risk | 61.0 |
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[Skip to main content](https://freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-net/2024#main-content)
[Accessibility](https://freedomhouse.org/accessibility)
[Freedom on the Net 2024](https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2024/struggle-trust-online)
| | |
| --- | --- |
| A[Obstacles to Access](https://freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-net/2024#A) | 1025 |
| B[Limits on Content](https://freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-net/2024#B) | 535 |
| C[Violations of User Rights](https://freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-net/2024#C) | 540 |
Last Year's Score & Status
21100Not Free
Scores are based on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free).
[See the methodology](https://freedomhouse.org/reports/freedom-net/freedom-net-research-methodology) and [report acknowledgements.](https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2025/uncertain-future-global-internet/acknowledgements)
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## header1Key Developments, June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024
The already dire state of internet freedom in Russia worsened during the coverage period. The government continued to block critical news sites and developed increasingly sophisticated technical and legislative measures to block virtual private networks (VPNs). Government agencies go to extensive lengths to surveil those who criticize the government online. Courts have also ordered the imprisonment of online critics of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and of the government more broadly.
- During two distinct protests in the republics of Sakha (Yaktusk) and Bashkortostan in January 2024, WhatsApp and Telegram were reportedly inaccessible. Individuals also had issues accessing the internet more broadly in the immediate proximity of a courthouse where the trial of environmental activist Fail Alsynov was held (see A3).
- In November 2023, the Supreme Court named the “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization, which has facilitated website blocks, content removal, and criminal cases against those who share content that could be construed as LGBT+ (see B1, B2, C2, and C3).
- In March 2024, a law that bans websites from posting information about circumvention tools, including VPNs, or advertising for VPNs came into effect; shortly after, the country’s telecommunications regulator blocked 30 webpages, most of which provided instructions
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