Internet Sanctions on Russian Media: Actions and Effects

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the implementation and impact of EU-imposed internet sanctions on Russian media, revealing significant variation and limited effectiveness in restricting information flows.

Contribution

It provides a detailed longitudinal traffic analysis of how EU ISPs enforce sanctions and compares these measures internationally, highlighting their limited impact.

Findings

Wide variation in blocking coverage across countries

Limited impact of sanctions on information flow

EU sanctions have a concrete but restricted effect

Abstract

As a response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the European Union (EU), through the notion of "digital sovereignty", imposed sanctions on organizations and individuals affiliated with the Russian Federation that prohibit broadcasting content, including online distribution. In this paper, we interrogate the implementation of these sanctions and interpret them as a means to translate the union of states' governmental edicts into effective technical countermeasures. Through longitudinal traffic analysis, we construct an understanding of how ISPs in different EU countries attempted to enforce these sanctions, and compare these implementations to similar measures in other western countries. We find a wide variation of blocking coverage, both internationally and within individual member states. We draw the conclusion that digital sovereignty through sanctions in the EU has a concrete but distinctly limited impact on information flows.