US Issues Sanction Exemptions So Russians Can Stay Online

pcmag.com:

The US Department of the Treasury has issued exemptions to sanctions that prevent American companies from doing business in Russia to make sure Russians aren't cut off from the internet.

The exemptions let companies offer "services, software, hardware, or technology incident to the exchange of communications over the internet, such as instant messaging, videoconferencing, chat and email, social networking, sharing of photos, movies, and documents, web browsing, blogging, web hosting, and domain name registration services" within Russia.

Bradley Smith, the deputy director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, authorized the exemptions after Access Now and the Wikimedia Foundation expressed concern about the prospect of Russian civilians losing access to information about the invasion of Ukraine.

"The Russian government must end its illegal war of aggression," Access Now general counsel Peter Micek said in a statement, "but denying Russian people access to legitimate information and secure technologies undermines the struggle. We commend the Biden Administration for crafting smarter sanctions, listening to civil society, and encouraging the tech sector to join the fight, not simply cut and run from Russia."

These exemptions don't necessarily mean that American companies will continue to offer their services in Russia, however, or that the country won't block access to those services itself. The Russian government has already cut off—or attempted to cut off—access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for their refusal to allow state media outlets to spread disinformation.

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