Advocates to WH: Don’t disconnect Russians

A group of over 40 human and digital rights organizations published an open letter to the Biden administration Thursday cautioning against limiting Russian’s access to the internet in response to the country’s invasion in Ukraine.

Two major internet providers have already cut service in Russia since its Feb. 24 incursion into eastern Ukraine.

Several software and telecommunications companies have also halted sales, a combined removal of services that threatens to leave Russian citizens without access to international services.

Pressure on other crucial technology providers to pull out, including from Ukrainian officials, has only risen as the war has continued.

“[W]e write to express our concerns about growing calls to interfere with the Russian people’s access to the internet, which we fear will hurt individuals attempting to organize in opposition to the war, report openly and honestly on events in Russia, and access information about what is happening in Ukraine and abroad,” wrote the groups, including Access Now, Human Rights Watch and the Wikimedia Foundation.

“These measures could also unnecessarily facilitate further repression by the Russian government,” they added.