Tuesday, April 11, 2023

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Russia Launches Anti-VPN Scare Campaign to Support Its VPN Blocking
Andy Maxwell, 11 Apr 12:49 PM

vpn-smVPN providers with any infrastructure in Russia have experienced problems for years.

Today's bottom line for anonymizing privacy services is that they must comply with Russia's site-blocking demands and open up themselves up to scrutiny. Since the alternative is to break the law and face the consequences, many providers have pulled out of Russia completely.

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, telecoms watchdog Rozkomnadzor stepped up its campaign against search engines. Demands to delist hundreds of thousands of VPN-related URLs from search results run alongside questionable requests to remove other content.

Despite renewed crackdowns on VPNs and Tor, it seems likely that Russia understands that short of blocking everything, blocking every VPN service and thousands of apps that constantly surface is impossible. As such, other methods are being explored.

Anti-VPN Scare Campaign

Public Service Announcements (PSA) have been deployed to nudge citizens in the right direction on genuine issues of public welfare for decades. They're also used to direct behavior in a way that benefits governments and corporations while making it appear that the interests of citizens are paramount.

Currently being spread via social media, the general premise of Russia's anti-VPN campaign is that since no VPN service can be trusted with users' private data, using a VPN is worse for privacy than not using a VPN at all.

The campaign is the work of ROCIT, which describes itself as a "public organization that unites active Internet users in Russia." Funded by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media (Minkomsvyaz), ROCIT issues advice on piracy, net neutrality and other internet-related issues, in line with government policy.

Campaign Videos

PSA 1: 'Your Data Can Be Leaked Online Due to VPN'

ROCIT advice: "VPN services accumulate a huge amount of personal data, including information about bank cards and personal documents of the user. Subsequently, all this can be transferred to intruders and scammers, including fraudulent call centers.."

In the video: The customer is asked whether she will be paying by cash or card. When choosing card, the barman begins reciting details of the card (account number, expiry date, CVV number) before she hands it over – apparently because the customer previously used a VPN.

PSA 2: "There is a price to pay for data security. Sometimes too expensive. In the pursuit of viewing content on banned social networks, think about it, but is it worth it?"

In the video: The customer requests the bill. The waiter addresses the customer with his full name and requests an extortionate amount. The customer is surprised since all he bought was a single cup of coffee. The waiter explains that the amount also covers his wife not being informed that he's having a secret affair.

PSA 3: "Checkout, a full basket of products, a store employee scans each product and tells you the amount of the purchase. And then the passport number, full name, age and address of registration. Yes, now the cashier can check not only products, but also any data about you."

In the video: The customer asks if she needs to show her passport for identification. The cashier says it's not necessary and then recites the customer's full name, date and place of birth, and where she lives now.

PSA 4: "Leaked personal data that everyone already knows about? Thank you VPN service. Once again you did not let us down!"

In the video: A man opens the door and says that he's here for an interview. He starts to say his name but the interviewer already knows it.

"Let's list your qualities," she says. "A fan of computer games and dubious websites. You haven't paid your child support for two years. Most importantly…your dignity," the interviewer adds, using her fingers to suggest she's aware of the size of…something. The man says he thinks he should leave.

PSA 5: "Only the person to whom you entrusted your personal data knows this. Do you know who you entrusted them to?"

In the video: The couple are having their first date yet the man speaks as if he's known the woman her entire life.

He knows the name of her former partner and says she spent the previous evening cuddling her cat 'Tima' while watching the movie Bridget Jones. Where did he get all of this information? She used a VPN.

Rozkomnadzor (and users) Comment on Videos

Commenting on its official Telegram channel on Saturday, telecoms watchdog Rozkomnadzor acknowledged the ROCIT campaign with the following statement.

"In social networks, videos with social advertising [PSAs] about the risks of using VPN services are discussed. According to the Communications Law, means of bypassing blocking of illegal content are recognized as a threat, as they create conditions for illegal activities," Rozkomnadzor notes.

"VPN services can give users the wrong impression of their own anonymity on the Internet. However, foreign owners of such services have access to all information that Russian users transmit through them."

Perhaps a more nuanced approach would be to help users understand that random free VPN apps downloaded from the internet are of greatest concern, but in a country where recognized VPN services have been forced to leave or have agreed to monitoring, few good choices remain. Rozcomnadzor's messaging suggests that there are no good options.

Comments are mostly blocked on the videos but some did manage to get through.

"Maybe you should allow VPNs so that people choose proven, popular VPN services, and not look for those that have not yet been blocked? Or maybe unblock popular sites so people don't really need to use VPN?" one commenter wrote.

Another was less than impressed by the video featuring the blackmailing waiter.

"What a stinky bastard you are. Why the hell would a random waiter know data from a VPN? Does he work as a hacker or VPN server operator in the evenings? Just taking people for idiots."

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Reddit Banned 5,853 Users for Excessive Copyright Infringement Last Year
Ernesto Van der Sar, 10 Apr 10:13 PM

reddit-logoEvery day, millions of people from all over the world submit posts, comments, and other content to Reddit.

The social news and discussion platform has been around for more than 17 years and over time its popularity has only increased.

With Reddit about to reach adulthood, the site has certain responsibilities. In recent years, these have included the publication of a transparency report documenting how various legal policies affect the site's content.

The report shows how Reddit's content policy leads to the deletion of millions of posts per week, including spam, hateful content, sexualization of minors, prohibited goods, and harassment. As a result, more than five million user accounts were banned last year, either temporarily or permanently.

DMCA Notices and Takedowns Increase

The number is significant, especially when taking into account that it doesn't include copyright-related complaints. Reddit's responses to DMCA takedown notices and the site's handling of excessive copyright infringement are listed separately in the "legal removals" section.

These figures have been steadily increasing, and last year was no exception, according to the transparency report.

"In 2022, we saw a 43% increase over the previous year in the total number of copyright notices received, a 126% increase in the amount of content reported for removal, and a 97% increase in the amount of content removed," Reddit reports.

Compared to other content removals, copyright actions are relatively modest. In 2022, Reddit received 254,632 copyright notices, in which rightsholders asked the site to remove 1,668,452 pieces of content. Of these requests, close to 80% resulted in items being removed.

These numbers are relatively small compared to the dozens of millions of 'content policy' removals. However, they carry a different weight as the content is reported by third-party actors, instead of Reddit mods or bots.

User and Subreddit Bans

This increase is not limited to the copyrighted links and content removed, subreddits are affected too. Several popular Reddit communities have to jump through hoops to avoid getting banned but not all manage to do so. In 2022, Reddit booted 3,215 subreddits for excessive copyright infringement.

According to Reddit's transparency report, this is a 105% increase year over year but this percentage seems a bit high, as the site already reported 2,625 subreddit bans last year. That said, the trend is definitely up. If we go back to 2020, 'only' 514 subreddits were banned.

A similar trend emerges for users banned for excessive copyright infringement. In 2020, 303 users were banned, increasing to 2,813 users in 2021, reaching 5,853 last year. That's close to a twentyfold increase in three years.

Fan-Notices

Not all DMCA notices are accepted as true. As mentioned earlier, close to 80% are rejected for various reasons. This can simply mean that some information is missing, but there are also more notable rejections.

For example, Reddit reports that several of the notices received didn't appear to come from the legitimate rightsholder, but from fans instead.

"The notices contained clear signals that they were submitted by the creators' fans, who did not have express authorization from the creators to do so. A copyright notice must come from either the copyright owner or an expressly designated agent, so Reddit declined to process these notices."

All in all, it's clear that Reddit has its hands full complying with DMCA takedown notices. With billions of pieces of user-generated content, this isn't a major surprise. That said, it's good to keep an eye on these developments with help from Reddit's transparency reports.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

 
 
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