Russian parliament pass bill to ban private internet networks

The Russian parliament’s upper house has passed a bill to ban virtual private networks and other services that helped to provide anonymity for internet users in the country.
The bill now awaits President Vladimir Putin’s signature to become a law.

Proponents of the bill said that the measure would help to prevent extremism.
However, critics have condemned it as yet another clampdown on liberties in the former Soviet state.
In recent years, Russia has been cracking down on online freedom using measures such as banning internet companies from storing information about Russian citizens on foreign servers.

The country had blocked business-oriented social network LinkedIn on the allegation that it violated that rule.