@paulmozur
We spent months digging through a 700 gigabyte cache from within Russia’s de facto internet intel agency Roskomnadzor.
It gave us one of the most complete pictures yet of Putin’s efforts to control the internet. It is at turns farcical and terrifying.
The system is sweeping into action now to crush opposition to Russia’s mobilization. Powered as much by determination as sophistication, it shows old-fashioned bureaucracy, mixed with brutality, can be a powerful autocratic weapon, even in the digital age.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/22/technology/russia-putin-surveillance-spying.html
The censors are the security state middle class of Russia. As they monitored dissidents and helped with arrests they also joked around. Here’s a goofy video they filmed, where they joke about accidentally blocking the Kremlin website.
https://twitter.com/paulmozur/status/1572936470192852992
“Roskomnadzor’s activities have catapulted Russia, along with authoritarian countries like China and Iran, to the forefront of nations that aggressively use technology as a tool of repression.”
Heads Up: If GOP gets authoritarian power they crave, they would do this in US. #GOPContractForCruelty