VPNs: The lifeline of free information in closed societies

Thank you so much for having me, and the kind introduction. I am a journalist who has spent the last decade leading newsrooms reporting for audiences subject to state censorship. Most recently, I led digital strategy at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which serves as a public media organization for 23 countries including Russia, Iran and Afghanistan. I've witnessed firsthand the critical role of VPNs in preserving information freedom. 

The information landscape in Russia has drastically changed since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has blocked access to thousands of websites, including major news outlets and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Russian-language sites I was responsible for at RFE/RL were among the first targets. This rapid deterioration of information freedom underscored the urgent need for effective circumvention tools, primarily VPNs.

Anticipating this crackdown, we collaborated with the Open Technology Fund to develop training materials in multiple languages, teaching journalists and audiences how to select and use VPNs effectively. I traveled the region continuously to disseminate these skills and train these newsrooms. The results were striking - our sites saw historic traffic, demonstrating that when given the tools, people will seek out uncensored information.

VPN usage in Russia surged after the invasion and remains high, despite government efforts to block them. This widespread adoption shows that Russians want to maintain access to critical information about the war and the outside world, but also about the actual situation within Russia that state-controlled media won’t show them. In fact, the demand was so high that we’ve seen QR codes distributed across Moscow apartment blocks, linking to VPN services.

The importance of VPNs extends beyond accessing news. They're crucial for preserving Russia's "muscle memory" for independent information. Without VPNs, people risk losing their connections to the outside world entirely for good. 

VPNs will become even more critical in the near future. Russia is already throttling YouTube and is widely reported to be planning a complete block as soon as next month. When this happens, the demand for VPNs will skyrocket as people seek to maintain access to this crucial platform.

Two more anecdotes I’d like to share with you. 

Firstly: on military recruitment, my team’s research work with various communities within Russia, including the 10 million Central Asian migrants, has shown how VPNs are instrumental in countering disinformation. For instance, the migrants targeted by Russian military recruiters, including the Wagner group, benefit from VPNs in accessing truthful information about the risks they would face if enrolled as mercenaries.

Secondly, in Crimea, information control is even more stringent than in Russia proper and illustrates the vital role of VPNs in an active war zone. Since the 2014 annexation, all independent Crimean news outlets have been forced to shut down or relocate from the occupied peninsula. 

There, VPNs are not just about accessing news - they're a lifeline for families split between occupied territories and the rest of Ukraine, allowing them to stay connected. For my colleagues working there underground and for the families of my now displaced colleagues, VPNs are vital to stay informed and connected.

From my experience: VPNs are not just tools; they are the lifeline of free information in closed societies. They empower journalists to speak truth to power, enable families to stay connected across imposed borders, and give citizens access to unfiltered realities. 

By supporting and expanding VPN access, we're not only preserving information freedom – we're fostering resilience against authoritarianism and nurturing the universal right to knowledge. Our support for them is an investment in a more interconnected world in the future, and a commitment to the fundamental right to information.

Thank you. 

/ENDS

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