How and why sites are blocked

In some cases, our network requires blocking access to certain sites that somehow violate the laws of the Russian Federation. From a legal point of view, this process is the same for all telecom operators, only aspects of technical implementation differ. Below is the FAQ about locking: what happens, how and why.

- My site does not open: is it a block?
If a special page is displayed, explaining that the site has been blocked directly by the provider, yes. If something else is shown on fixed access - no. There is no special stub for mobile access.
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- Does the VimpelCom network have special equipment for blocking websites?
Not.

- How is the lock on the hardware level?
There is no equipment on the VimpelCom data transmission network that allows restricting access for subscribers using mobile and fixed Internet services to URL addresses, in particular, blocking subscribers' access to specific pages and sections of websites. To block access to specific pages and sections of web-sites, installation of additional software and hardware complexes at all points (throughout Russia) of subscriber traffic aggregation and traffic output to the Internet (GGSNs, BRASs, backbone network routers) is required. This additional equipment is not necessary to provide mobile and fixed Internet services to subscribers. VimpelCom OJSC blocks access to Internet sites with illegal information, taking into account the Company's technical capacity, by adding filtering rules to border routers at a specific IP address of the Internet site.

- How are these IP addresses blocked?
For mobile Internet subscribers, blocking of IP addresses is done by adding firewall configurations to the access-list (access lists) that provide subscribers access to the Internet, filtering IP-traffic rules that prohibit access to the specified IP address. For fixed Internet subscribers, the blocking of IP addresses is made by adding on border routers (data network equipment) IP traffic routing rules that prohibit subscribers from accessing the specified IP address (a route is set up indicating that traffic to the specified IP address is not routed, black hole filtering).

- How are the rules for filtering IP traffic implemented?
The rules for filtering IP traffic on firewalls are one of the functions of the operating system of the firewall. They are implemented through access lists that allow you to control the passage of traffic through the firewall interfaces, allowing or prohibiting the transmission of IP packets that meet the specified conditions. Firewalls on which restrictions are set for subscribers are included in the GPRS Core hardware.

- What is the basis for the unit?
In accordance with clause 6 of Article 10 of Federal Law No. 149-FZ dated July 27, 2006 “On Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information”, it is prohibited to disseminate information that is intended to promote war, incite national, racial or religious hatred and hostility. , as well as other information for the distribution of which criminal or administrative liability. On this basis, access to Internet resources, so-called, is restricted. lock

- What documents are needed to enable filtering?
Among the grounds provided by law for restricting access to Internet resources, the following can be highlighted:
1. By a court decision.
2. In accordance with a motivated decision / prescription.

- How is the judgment delivered?
In short, the order is as follows. The interested person or the authorities authorized by law (in practice, these are the prosecution authorities) apply to the court for the recognition of materials disseminated, including on the Internet, as extremist in accordance with the legislation on countering extremism. We are also talking about gambling, information about drugs and other violations of current legislation. If the court makes a positive decision, then such material enters the register of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation - a federal list of extremist materials, access to which is restricted, which creates an obligation for all operators to block the site with such materials. Restrictions on access may be established by a court decision regarding materials containing child pornography, methods of making and acquiring drugs, etc.

There is also the practice of applying to the prosecutor’s office directly against the licensed operator who provides telematic communication services. In this case, the subject of the lawsuit is to prohibit a particular operator from accessing an Internet resource for which a restraining judgment already exists. And, as a rule, such solutions also indicate the blocking method indicating the specific IP address where the prohibited content is located . In some cases, there is a practice when the prosecution authorities send an order to the operators indicating the court's decision according to which it is necessary to block the prohibited resource. If such a decision specifies an IP address (and usually it is indicated), an independent decision to unblock can be qualified as a failure to comply with the order of the prosecutor's office.

- How is a reasoned decision / prescription implemented?
In this case, blocking is carried out on the basis of a reasoned decision in writing of one of the heads of the body conducting operational investigative activities or ensuring the security of the Russian Federation (see clause 3 of article 64 of the Law on Communication of July 7, 2003 No. 126-FZ). At the same time, there is no indication in the law what should be in a motivated decision and how it is directly related to the operational search activities. Such suspension of services in relation to the provision of Internet access services actually means blocking a specific IP address or addresses. In any case, the operator must perform such a decision, because An assessment of the degree of “motivation” of the decision can only be finalized by the court. Renewal of services in this case, i.e. in practice, unblocking occurs on the basis of a court decision or a reasoned decision in writing by one of the leaders of the authority that decided to suspend the provision of communication services.

- What were the changes in the legislation?
From November 1, 2012, changes to the current legislation that define the “rules of the game” regarding the restriction of access to Internet resources come into force. First of all, it will be about the responsibility of hosting providers for blocking directly the sites that are located on their IP addresses. The authorized organization prepares and maintains a register of resources, access to which should be restricted by law. This does not mean the abolition of the court’s competence in relation to the prohibition of information, for the dissemination of which criminal or administrative responsibility. The grounds for inclusion in the register of prohibited resources are specified in paragraph 5 of Article 15.1 of the aforementioned Law on Information in a new edition. The new law also provides for the right to challenge such inclusion of information in the register in a court of law. The registry initially includes information about the domain name, site page index (URL), which obliges the hosting provider to notify the owner of the resource about the need to remove the web page / pages within 24 hours. If this does not happen, then the hosting provider should limit access to the resource. If this does not happen, then the network address is already entered in the registry, which is blocked by telecom operators. The deadline for such actions for all listed persons is one day.

- What will change the last decision?
Such a three-tier structure allows to significantly reduce the risk of blocking legal sites, access to which is limited due to the "closure" of the IP address. Owners of a legal resource will be able to solve unlock issues directly with the hosting provider or through it.

- Can VimpelCom independently block websites?
Without a court decision - no. As a rule, most of the blocking requests are related to the lack of understanding of the network architecture, the most striking example is the inaccessibility of Twitter under certain browsers.

- Will proxies and anonymizers be blocked?
Restriction of access for subscribers and users is carried out only by a court decision or a motivated request of the authorized bodies, and since November of this year and in accordance with the register of the organization authorized by the decision of the Ministry of Communications.

These legal principles apply to all telecom operators. In the comments I am ready to answer interesting legal and technical questions.

PS Minus, please specify: you do not like the topic as such, or you do not need more legal and technical data on Habré? For some reason it seemed to me that accurate information on such issues is better than its absence - even though the topic is not very pleasant.