Civil Society Groups Urge Biden Admin Not To Cut Off Internet In Russia

A coalition of more than 35 civil society organizations today sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the administration to ensure that the people of Russia and Belarus are not cut off from the internet by new sanctions.

“Some governments, including the U.S. government, may be considering disrupting internet access in Russia through new sanctions,” wrote the groups, which include Access Now, Wikimedia Foundation, Center for Democracy & Technology, Human Rights Watch, Committee to Protect Journalists and Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“There is also increasing pressure, internally and externally, on information and communications technology vendors like internet, telecommunications, and cloud serviceproviders to voluntarily restrict or block access by users in Russia. Moreover, Ukraine has made repeated requests along these lines.”

Last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) rejected such a request from Ukraine. However at least two internet providers, Cogent and Lumen, have already cut off service in Russia.

While the groups in the coalition stress that they “deplore” Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, they argue that limiting internet access “will hurt individuals attempting to organize in opposition to the war, report openly and honestly on events in Russia and Belarus, and access information about what is happening in Ukraine and beyond.”

“We call on the Biden Administration and allied governments to ensure their sanctions do not tighten Putin’s grip over information and ideas,” stated Peter Micek, general counsel at Access Now. “People in Russia and Belarus struggle to find accurate news, and the internet, for all its faults, remains the last open space for free-flowing discourse. The President and Treasury Department should signal to tech companies — and governments supporting Ukraine — that cutting internet services in Russia or Belarus will be counterproductive.”

The letter calls on the Biden Administration and “like-minded” governments seeking to sanction the actions of the Russian Federation and its allies to instead take steps such as immediately authorizing services, software and hardware for personal communications over the internet, “while providers are still considering compliance strategies, rather than waiting until after individuals in Russia are cut off from these vital services.”

Governments should also help ensure that any sanctions are “implemented a in a smart and targeted manner, consistent with international human rights principles,” states the coalition.

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