The Digital Development Ministry confirmed it will not (for now) introduce charges for international traffic, in ...

The Digital Development Ministry confirmed it will not (for now) introduce charges for international traffic, including VPN

Russian Deputy Digital Development Minister Ivan Lebedev said that charges for foreign traffic are "not under consideration for now."

Lebedev, speaking in the State Duma, was responding to a question from Communist Party deputy Oleg Smolin about the ministry's corresponding plans, Interfax reports.

In late March, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev, at a meeting with telecom operators and digital platforms, asked for measures against the use of VPN services. Among other things, as reported, they discussed charges for consumption above 15 gigabytes of international traffic per month. Operators treat VPN traffic as international.

According to the BBC Russian Service, the proposal was 150 rubles for each extra gigabyte.

Initially, according to media sources, the charge was supposed to be introduced on May 1. However, operators asked for a delay, saying they were not yet technically ready.

In late May, RBC sources reported that the introduction of charges for international traffic was being postponed "until after the State Duma elections" (scheduled for September 18-20).

@meduzalive