Demand for VPN services soared after Russia restricted access to some Western social media after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Senator Artem Sheikin said an order from the Roskomnadzor watchdog would come into force on March 1 that would block VPNs. "From March 1, 2024, an order will come into force to block VPN services providing access to sites banned in Russia," Sheikin was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA. Sheikin said that it was particularly important to block access to Meta Platforms (META.O), which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. He stressed that this order also applies to those VPN services that give access, in particular, to Instagram, which is banned in Russia.

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Persons: Vladimir Putin, Artem Sheikin, Sheikin, Bobby McFerrin, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Private Networks, United, Roskomnadzor, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, United Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Instagram