Russia blocked access to ProtonMail, an end-to-end encrypted email service, on January 29, claiming that it was used to send false threats about bombing 830 locations, including schools, hospitals, and shopping centres. The restriction on ProtonMail was to prevent the distribution of false messages that poses a threat to the nation’s citizens, and public order and safety, the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said. ProtonVPN, the company's virtual private network service, has also been blocked, ProtonMail said. This was first reported by Reuters. Russia’s communications department, the Roskomnadzor, said that ProtonMail refused to give information about the anonymous users, despite its repeated requests. It said that it is expecting “effective interaction with all parties involved”. https://twitter.com/ProtonMail/status/1222539062822633472 On January 23, Russia had blocked access to Netherlands-based StartMail because of similar reasons, and FSB claimed that following StartMail’s ban, anonymous users shifted to ProtonMail, to continue their “criminal activity”. This isn’t the first time that the service has been banned in Russia; in 2019, Russia had reportedly blocked access to ProtonMail due to similar false threats being spread through the platform. ProtonMail said that it was reaching out to the concerned authorities to get the block lifted as soon as possible, and told Reuters that the block can potentially be ineffective, simply because perpetrators can use other email services, or access ProtonMail using other VPN services. Russia's chequered history with demanding data and banning services: It isn’t clear at the moment if Russia has also added ProtonMail to its Register of Information Dissemination Organisations (ORI), which…
