Roskomnadzor

{{Infobox government agency

| name = Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media

| native_name = {{lang|ru|Федеральная служба по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций}}

| seal = Emblem of Roskomnadzor.svg

| seal_width = 150px

| seal_caption =

| formed = {{Start date and age|df=y|2008|12|03}}

| jurisdiction = Russia

| headquarters = {{ill|Kitaygorodsky pass|ru|Китайгородский проезд}}, 7/2
Kitay-gorod
Moscow

| employees = 3,019 (2017)

| budget = 8.5 billion rubles (US$127 million) (2016)

| chief1_name = Andrey Yurievich Lipov{{Cite web |title=Руководитель Роскомнадзора Андрей Юрьевич Липов |url=https://old.rkn.gov.ru/about/head/p1130/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=Роскомнадзор}}

| parent_agency = Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media

| website = {{URL|https://eng.rkn.gov.ru/}}

}}

The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media,{{efn|{{langx|ru|Федеральная служба по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций|Federalnaya sluzhba po nadzoru v sfere svyazi, informatsionnykh tekhnologiy i massovykh kommunikatsiy|link=no}}}} abbreviated as Roskomnadzor (RKN),{{efn|{{langx|ru|Роскомнадзор (РКН)|link=no}}}} is the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, controlling and censoring Russian mass media. Its areas of responsibility include electronic media, mass communications, information technology and telecommunications, supervising compliance with the law, protecting the confidentiality of personal data being processed, and organizing the work of the radio-frequency service.

History

In March 2007, the authority—then a subdivision of the Cultural Ministry of Russia called "Russian Federal Surveillance Service for Compliance with the Legislation in Mass Media and Cultural Heritage Protection" (Rosokhrankultura)—warned the Kommersant newspaper that it should not mention the National Bolshevik Party on its pages, as the party had been denied official registration.{{Cite web |date=30 March 2007 |title=Ъ-Газета - И звать их никак |trans-title=Kommersant-Gazeta - And there is no way to call them |url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-y.html?docId=754678&issueId=36239 |access-date=29 August 2015}}

The Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications was re-established in May 2008. Resolution number 419, "On Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications", was adopted on 6 February 2008.{{Cite web |title=Current structure of the Government of Russia |url=http://www.government.ru/content/executivepowerservices/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429023311/http://www.government.ru/content/executivepowerservices/ |archive-date=April 29, 2009 |access-date=May 15, 2009 |publisher=Government of Russia |language=ru}}{{Cite web |title="УКАЗ Президента РФ от 12.05.2008 N 724 "Вопросы системы и структуры федеральных органов исполнительной власти"" |trans-title="Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 12 May 2008 N 724 "Issues of the system and structure of federal executive bodies"" |url=http://graph.document.kremlin.ru/page.aspx?960206 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507124022/http://graph.document.kremlin.ru/page.aspx?960206 |archive-date=2012-05-07 |access-date=2011-12-28 |website=graph.document.kremlin.ru}}, p. 2

In December 2019, media criticized the service's choice of experts who are performing analysis of referred publications to assess their compliance with regulations. A number of experts recruited by Roscomnadzor are associated with pseudo-scientific and sectarian movements, including HIV/AIDS deniers, ultra-conservative, anti-vaccination and alternative medicine activists. Three such experts—Anna Volkova, Tatyana Simonova and Elena Shabalina—assessed lyrics of popular rapper Egor Kreed in which they found "mutagenic effect", "satanic influence" and "psychological warfare".{{Cite web |title=Познакомьтесь с людьми, которые решают, какие произведения искусства вредны для ваших детей Как экспертами Роскомнадзора становятся сторонники движений, связанных с сектами и лженаукой |trans-title=Meet the People Who Decide Which Works of Art Are Harmful to Your Children |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2019/12/06/poznakomtes-s-lyudmi-kotorye-reshayut-kakie-proizvedeniya-iskusstva-vredny-dlya-vashih-detey |access-date=2019-12-06 |website=meduza.io}}

Also in 2019, Roskomnadzor published the first iteration of the "list of information resources who had in the past been spreading unreliable information" including a number of social media groups and media websites accused mostly of incorrectly reporting on a single incident in Dzerzhinsk in June 2019.{{Cite web |title=How does Russia fight fake news? |url=https://www.obs.coe.int/en/web/observatoire/home/-/asset_publisher/9iKCxBYgiO6S/content/how-does-russia-fight-fake-news- |access-date=2019-12-06 |website=European Audiovisual Observatory |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Перечень информационных ресурсов, регулярно распространяющих недостоверную информацию |trans-title=List of information resources that regularly disseminate false information |url=https://rkn.gov.ru/mass-communications/p1104/ |access-date=2019-12-06 |website=Роскомнадзор}}

After nationwide pro-Navalny protests in 2021, Roskomnadzor fined seven social media companies for not removing pro-Navalny videos: "Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and YouTube will be fined for non-compliance with requirements to prevent the dissemination of calls to minors to participate in unauthorized rallies" it said in a statement published on its website.{{Cite web |title=Социальные сети будут привлечены к ответственности за вовлечение подростков в противоправную деятельность |trans-title=Social networks will be held accountable for involving teenagers in illegal activities |url=https://rkn.gov.ru/news/rsoc/news73328.htm |access-date=2021-01-27 |website=Роскомнадзор}}{{Cite news |last=Isachenkov |first=Vladimir |date=29 January 2021 |title=Moscow court puts several allies of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny under house arrest |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc |agency=The Associated Press |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-moscow-court-mulls-house-arrest-for-several-allies-of-kremlin-critic/}}

On 10 March 2022, 820 GB of Roskomnadzor data was leaked and published, with the hacking group Anonymous claiming responsibility. Anonymous engaged in several cyberattacks against Russian websites as the Russian invasion of Ukraine occurred.{{Cite news |title=Anonymous hacks Russian federal agency, releases 360,000 documents |first=Ariella|last=Marsden|date=10 March 2022|url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-700940 |access-date=2022-03-10 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Best |first=Lorax B. Horne and Emma |date=10 March 2022 |title=Release: Roskomnadzor (820 GB) |url=https://ddosecrets.substack.com/p/release-roskomnadzor-820-gb |access-date=2022-03-14 |website=Distributed Email of Secrets}}

Because of its actions that supported the invasion of Ukraine, Roskomnadzor has been sanctioned by Ukraine, the European Union and Canada.{{cite web | url=https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en/sanction-company/6072/ | title=Roskomnadzor | War and sanctions }}

In February 2023, it was revealed that Belarusian Cyberpartisans had hacked and leaked Roskomnadzor data to journalists. The leak exposed surveillance and censorship programs and ways to discredit journalists.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-14 |title=A regulator leak helps us understand how censorship works on the Russian internet |url=https://thebell.io/en/a-regulator-leak-helps-us-understand-how-censorship-works-on-the-russian-internet/ |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=The Bell — Eng |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2023-02-08 |title=IStories, Süddeutsche Zeitung: Russia's censorship agency monitors negative comments about Putin and his health online and keeps track of protest attitudes |url=https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/02/08/istories-suddeutsche-zeitung-russias-censorship-agency-monitors-negative-comments-about-putin-and-his-health-online-and-keeps-track-of-protest-attitudes-en-news |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=Novaya Gazeta Europe}}{{Cite web |title=A 'Wild Boar' trained by Yandex A massive data leak reveals the ascent of artificial intelligence in Internet surveillance and suppressing protest in Russia |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/02/10/a-wild-boar-trained-by-yandex |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=Meduza |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Как Роскомнадзор власть Путина бережет |url=https://istories.media/istories/stories/2023/02/08/kak-roskomnadzor-vlast-putina-berezhet/index.html/ |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=istories.media}}{{Cite news |last1=Belovodyev |first1=Daniil |last2=Bayev |first2=Anton |date=2023-02-09 |title=Inside The Obscure Russian Agency That Censors The Internet: An RFE/RL Investigation |language=en |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-agency-internet-censorship/32262102.html |access-date=2023-02-19}}{{Cite web |title=RussianCensorFiles - Distributed Denial of Secrets |url=https://ddosecrets.com/wiki/RussianCensorFiles |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=ddosecrets.com}}

Purpose

Roskomnadzor is a federal executive body responsible for control, censorship, and supervision in the field of media, including electronic media and mass communications, information technology and communications functions control and supervision over the compliance of personal data processing requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of personal data, and the role of co-ordinating the activities of radio frequency service. It's an authorized federal executive body for the protection of human subjects of personal data.{{Cite web |title=Постановление от 16 марта 2009 г. №228 О Федеральной службе по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций |trans-title=Decree of March 16, 2009 No. 228 On the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media |url=http://government.ru/gov/results/6811/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407095626/http://government.ru/gov/results/6811/ |archive-date=April 7, 2013 |access-date=April 9, 2013}} It is also the body administering Russian Internet censorship filters.{{Cite web |date=13 August 2015 |title=This is how Russian Internet censorship works A journey into the belly of the beast that is the Kremlin's media watchdog |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2015/08/13/this-is-how-russian-internet-censorship-works |access-date=April 17, 2018 |website=Meduza}} It also designs and implements procedures of Russian Autonomous Internet Subnetwork, like inventory of Russian Autonomous Systems, alternative DNS root servers in Russian National Domain Name System, controls local ISPs interconnect and Internet exchanges. The main goal is to provide access to the Russian Autonomous Internet Subnetwork even after disconnection or isolation from the global Internet (Sovereign Internet Law).

Enforcement actions

File:Russian_Provider_Restricting_Access_to_the_Site.png

On 31 March 2013, The New York Times reported that Russia was "selectively blocking [the] Internet".{{Cite news |title=Russians Selectively Blocking Internet |work=The New York Times |date=31 March 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/technology/russia-begins-selectively-blocking-internet-content.html?_r=0 |access-date=2016-01-01|last1=Kramer |first1=Andrew E. }} In 2014, during the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Roskomnadzor had a number of websites criticising Russian policy in Ukraine blocked, including the blog of Alexei Navalny, Kasparov.ru and {{ill|Грани.ру|ru}}.{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Нас блокируют. Что делать? |trans-title=We are being blocked. What to do? |url=http://grani.ru/wiki/Blocked/ |publisher=Grani.ru}} Also, on 22 June 2016 Amazon Web Services was entirely blocked for a couple of hours because of a poker app.{{Cite web |last=Eurasiatx |date=2016-06-22 |title=Russia blocks Amazon Web Services |url=http://eurasiatx.com/russia-blocks-amazon-web-services/ |access-date=2016-06-23}}{{Cite web |last=The Moscow Times |author-link=The Moscow Times |date=2016-06-23 |title=Russian Media Watchdog Unblocks Amazon Storage Service Website |url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russian-media-watchdog-unblocks-amazon-storage-service-website/573368.html |access-date=2016-06-23}}

As of April 2024, 200,000 websites related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine are blocked.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-23 |title=Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 23, 2024 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-23-2024 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}} Roskomnadzor is blocking around 150 virtual private network (VPN) services and 700 websites involved in advertising VPNs.

=GitHub=

In October 2014, GitHub was blocked for a short time. On 2 December, GitHub was blocked again for some satiric notes, describing "methods of suicide",{{Cite web |last=Ingrid Lunden |title=To Get Off Russia's Blacklist, GitHub Has Blocked Access To Pages That Highlight Suicide |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/05/to-get-off-russias-blacklist-github-has-blocked-access-to-pages-that-highlight-suicide/ |access-date=29 August 2015 |website=TechCrunch |date=5 December 2014 |publisher=AOL}} which caused major tensions among Russian software developers. It was unblocked on 4 December 2014 and GitHub had set up a special page{{Cite web |title=github/roskomnadzor |url=https://github.com/github/roskomnadzor/ |access-date=29 August 2015 |website=GitHub}} dedicated to Roskomnadzor-related issues. All content was and remains available for non-Russian networks.

=Russian Wikipedia=

On 5 April 2013, it was confirmed by a spokesperson for Roskomnadzor that Wikipedia had been blacklisted over the article "Cannabis smoking" (Курение каннабиса) on the Russian Wikipedia.{{Cite web |last=Sputnik |date=5 April 2013 |title=Russia May Block Wikipedia Access Over Narcotics Article |url=http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130405/180469665.html |access-date=29 August 2015}}{{Cite web |last=RBTH, Interfax |date=2013-04-05 |title=Russian media regulator confirms Wikipedia blacklisted | Russia Beyond the Headlines |url=http://rbth.ru/news/2013/04/05/russian_media_regulator_confirms_wikipedia_blacklisted_24706.html |access-date=2016-01-01 |website=Rbth.ru}}

On 18 August 2015, an article in Russian Wikipedia about charas (Чарас (наркотическое вещество) {{in lang|ru}}) was blacklisted by Roskomnadzor as containing propaganda on narcotics. The article was then rewritten from scratch using UN materials and textbooks, but on 24 August it was included in the list of forbidden materials sent to Internet providers of Russia.{{Cite news |date=24 August 2015 |title=Kremlin moves to ban Russian Wikipedia |work=Financial Times |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38bbbd98-4a7f-11e5-9b5d-89a026fda5c9.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 August 2015}} As Wikipedia uses the HTTPS protocol to encrypt traffic, effectively all of the site with all language versions{{dubious|date=February 2022}} of Wikipedia was blocked in Russia on the night of August 25.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

On 1 March 2022, Roskomnadzor threatened to block access to Russian Wikipedia over the article "Вторжение России на Украину (2022)" ("Russia's invasion of Ukraine (2022)"), claiming that the article contained "illegally distributed information" including "reports about numerous casualties among service personnel of the Russian Federation and also the civilian population of Ukraine, including children".{{Cite news |date=2022-03-01 |title=Moscow threatens to block Russian-language Wikipedia over invasion article |language=en |work=National Post |url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/moscow-threatens-to-block-russian-language-wikipedia-over-invasion-article |url-status=live |access-date=2022-03-02 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220301/https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/moscow-threatens-to-block-russian-language-wikipedia-over-invasion-article |archive-date=2022-03-01}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web |date=2 March 2022 |title=Russia threatens to block Wikipedia over Ukraine invasion article: Its communications regulator cited 'illegally distributed information' about casualty figures. |url=https://www.engadget.com/russia-wikipedia-ukraine-invasion-154230733.html |access-date=3 March 2022 |website=www.engadget.com}} Roskomnadzor made similar threats on 31 March, demanding that Wikipedia remove any information about the invasion that is "misinforming" Russians or it could face a fine of up to 4 million rubles (approximately US$49,000).{{Cite web |last=Saul |first=Derek |date=31 March 2022 |title=Russia Demands Wikipedia Take Down Information About Ukraine War |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/03/31/russia-demands-wikipedia-take-down-information-about-ukraine-war/?sh=746e1cec66f2 |access-date=31 March 2022 |website=Forbes.com}}

=''The Daily Stormer''=

In 2017, the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer was briefly moved to a Russian domain name, but Roskomnazdor subsequently acted to remove its access, and the site moved to the dark web.{{Cite web |date=27 August 2017 |title=Daily Stormer: Cloudflare drops neo-Nazi site |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40960053 |website=BBC News}}

= Telegram =

On 16 April 2018, Roskomnadzor ordered Russian ISPs to block access to the instant messenger Telegram, as the company refused to hand over the encryption keys for users' chats to Russian authorities. The information watchdog applied the method of mass IP address blockings, hitting major hosting providers, such as Amazon, and disrupting hundreds of Russian internet services.{{Cite web |date=17 April 2018 |title=Russia's federal censor blocks millions of IP addresses in crackdown on Telegram, disrupting Internet services across the country |url=https://meduza.io/en/news/2018/04/17/russia-s-federal-censor-blocks-millions-of-ip-addresses-in-crackdown-on-telegram-disrupting-internet-services-across-the-country/ |website=Meduza}}{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Andrew |date=17 April 2018 |title=Russia blocks millions of IP addresses in battle against Telegram app |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/17/russia-blocks-millions-of-ip-addresses-in-battle-against-telegram-app |website=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media}}{{Cite web |last=Evdokimov |first=Leonid |author-link=Leonid Evdokimov |date=29 December 2018 |title=Russia vs. Telegram: technical notes on the battle |url=https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9653-russia_vs_telegram_technical_notes_on_the_battle |website=Chaos Communication Congress}} Roskomnadzor had to abandon this approach, but failed to implement any other means to stop Russian users from accessing Telegram. In the end, Roskomnadzor and other government structures set up their own channels in the "outlawed" app. In mid-2020 Roskomnadzor officially gave up on trying to block Telegram.

= Twitter =

On 10 March 2021, Roskomnadzor started to "slow down" Twitter for users in Russia, attributing the decision to the platform's failure to remove content deemed illegal by the Russian government.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-04 |title=Russia blocks access to Facebook and Twitter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/04/russia-completely-blocks-access-to-facebook-and-twitter |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=the Guardian |language=en}} This action occasionally caused Russia's key websites, including Roskomnadzor itself, to stop working. It also led to malfunctions of major commercial services, such as Qiwi payment system, and blocked some users from accessing Yandex, Google, and YouTube. In addition, along with Twitter, Roskomnadzor throttled access to numerous websites with domain names ending in "t.co" (t.co being among the Twitter domain), thus affecting no fewer than 48 thousand hosts, including GitHub, Russia Today, Reddit, Microsoft, Google, Dropbox, Steam.{{Cite web |date=10 March 2021 |title=Slow down, Twitter. Roskomnadzor throttles Twitter over failure to remove 'illegal content' |url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/03/10/slow-down-twitter |access-date=14 March 2021 |publisher=Meduza}}{{Cite web |last=Евгений Делюкин |date=10 March 2021 |title=Роскомнадзор вместе с Twitter замедлил сайты GitHub, Microsoft, Reddit и все остальные с сочетанием t.co в домене |trans-title=Roskomnadzor slowed down Twitter together with the sites GitHub, Microsoft, Reddit and all the others with a combination of t.co in the domain |url=https://vc.ru/tech/218742-roskomnadzor-vmeste-s-twitter-zamedlil-sayty-github-microsoft-reddit-i-vse-ostalnye-s-sochetaniem-t-co-v-domene |access-date=14 March 2021 |publisher=vc.ru}}

On 26 February 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Twitter said that access to the platform was being restricted to some users in Russia.{{Cite web |date=26 February 2022 |title=Twitter says its site is being restricted in Russia |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-says-its-site-is-being-restricted-russia-2022-02-26/ |website=Reuters}} On 1 March, Roskomnadzor again slowed access to Twitter, accusing the company of failing to remove what it called "fake posts" about the "special operation".{{Cite web |date=1 March 2022 |title=Russia reinstates Twitter slowdown, says Meta, Google are 'instigators of war' |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-reinstates-twitter-traffic-slowdown-computers-over-fake-ukraine-posts-2022-03-01/ |website=Reuters}}

On 28 April 2022, Twitter was fined 3 million rubles (US$41,000) after being sued by Roskomnadzor for not removing content that included instructions for how to prepare and use molotov cocktails against Russian armored vehicles.[https://www.newsweek.com/twitter-latest-social-media-platform-russia-fines-over-illegal-content-1701812 "Twitter the Latest Social Media Platform Russia Fines Over Illegal Content"], Newsweek, 28 April 2022

= Meta =

On 4 March 2022, Roskomnadzor said it was blocking access to Facebook over restrictions that were imposed on Russian state media outlets.{{Cite web |date=4 March 2022 |title=Russia blocks Facebook, accusing it of restricting access to Russian media |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/russia-blocks-facebook-accusing-it-restricting-access-russian-media-2022-03-04/ |website=Reuters}} On 21 March, further action was taken after a court ruled that Meta Platforms was guilty of "extremist activity", affecting access to Facebook and Instagram but not WhatsApp.{{Cite web |date=21 March 2022 |title=Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram under 'extremism' law |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/russian-court-bans-facebook-instagram-extremism-law-rcna20872 |website=NBC News}} The ruling came after a Reuters report stated that Meta would allow its users to post messages supporting violence against Russian soldiers and Russian president Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine; however, Meta later narrowed its moderation policy to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state.{{Cite web |date=21 March 2022 |title=Russia finds Meta guilty of 'extremist activity' but WhatsApp can stay |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-asks-russian-court-dismiss-proceedings-extremism-case-reports-2022-03-21/ |website=Reuters}}

= Google =

In April 2022, Roskomnadzor fined Google more than 7 billion rubles (US$94 million), for not removing what it claimed was illegal content from YouTube.{{Cite web |date=25 April 2022 |title=РКН оштрафовал Google более чем на семь миллиардов рублей |trans-title=RKN fined Google more than seven billion rubles |url=https://ria.ru/20220425/google-1785280520.html |website=Ria Novosti |language=ru}}

= TikTok =

In April 2022, Roskomnadzor drew up a protocol and a court in Moscow fined TikTok two million rubles (US$27,000) for not removing content related to the LGBT community.[https://www.jpost.com/international/article-705146 "Moscow court fines TikTok 2 million rubles for LGBT 'propaganda'"], Jerusalem Post, 26 April 2022

= Chess.com =

On 23 April 2022, Roskomnadzor blocked the online chess website Chess.com in Russia because of two articles that were critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and links to those articles replacing the flags of all Russian users on the website.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-24 |title=Chess.com Banned By Russia |url=https://www.chess.com/news/view/chess-com-banned-by-russia |access-date=2022-06-22 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Roskomsvoboda |url=https://t.me/roskomsvoboda/8702 |access-date=2022-06-22 |website=Telegram}} The general prosecutor's office only wanted the two aforementioned anti-war articles banned, but because Chess.com uses the HTTPS protocol, this blocked the entire website.{{Cite web |date=24 April 2022 |title=Russia blocks chess website Chess.com over Ukraine |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/russia-blocks-chess-website-chesscom-over-ukraine |access-date=27 January 2025 |website=The Straits Times |agency=Agence France-Presse}}