Earlier this year, China begun assessing ways to ban VPNs and proxy servers in the country, and finally made it mandatory for individuals and organizations to register with the government in order to use such services. Now, Russia seems to be moving towards a similar decision as well.

The bill to ban the use of tools such as proxy websites, proxy servers or virtual private networks (VPNs) in the country was passed by the State Duma (lower house) of the Russian Parliament on Friday. It is yet to be approved by the upper house and the President, but once done, the country's internet service providers will need to block access to any providers of proxy services.

As per Russian lawmakers, the move would further help enforce the country's ban on extremist content hosted online. Currently there is no word on whether any special provisions are available for companies that rely on global content or individuals that need access to such services. We will know more about the bill in the coming weeks.

Source: ABC News | Vladimir Putin image via Shutterstock