Moscow Opens Door to Widespread Digital Surveillance (Hlib Parfonov – The Jamestown Foundation)

New laws upping the penalties for Russians who access “extremist” content through unauthorized means reflect Moscow’s growing paranoia with an increasingly frustrated population.
Russian officials have justified widespread Internet outages as necessary to the war effort, though many see it as a smokescreen for intensifying domestic surveillance and later criminalizing access to unlawful material.
The mass shutdowns are significantly disrupting Russia’s digital economy. Estimates show that one hour of mobile Internet outages can cost a regional economy over 750 million rubles ($9.4 million).

Moscow Opens Door to Widespread Digital Surveillance – Jamestown