The web service Speedtest.net or otherwise known as Speedtest by Ookla provides an analysis of internet access performance metrics. It has been regarded as the flagship product of Ookla. Initial release of the program was during April 2006. The service itself works by measuring the data throughout (speed) as well as latency or connection delay of an internet connection against one of almost 16,000 geographically dispersed servers.
The problematic Speedtest issue
Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor said on Wednesday it had blocked the internet performance tool Speedtest, run by U.S. company Ookla, due to what it described as threats to Russia’s internet security. The Roskommandzor (RKN) or officially known as the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, is a federal Russian executive agency. They are responsible for not only monitoring but also controlling and censoring Russian mass media.
Foreign tech companies, including the likes of Alphabetย GOOGL.O, Metaย META.Oย and Appleย AAPL.O, have been under pressure in Russia for several years over the content they distribute and where they store their data. Roskomnadzor said access to Speedtest had been restricted in accordance with a 2020 decree “due to identified threats to the security of public communications network operation and the Russian segment of the internet”. Ookla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The story about Ookla
Ookla itself is a worldwide leader in connectivity insights as well as network intelligence. Headquartered within Seattle, Washington, it is a division of Ziff Davis. One of its most well-known products is obviously the Speedtest. One of their other products on the market is the Downdetector. This monitors’ network performs and helps to identity issues. “Roskomnadzor recommends using trusted Russian services,” Roskomnadzor said, naming an application developed in Russia called ProSet, or ProNet in English, that performs similar online speed and signal strength tests.
Russia has long sought to establish what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting home-grown services, a push that became more urgent as some Western companies pulled out of the Russian market following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has blocked social networks like Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, sought to slow down the speed of YouTube and has toldย messaging app WhatsAppย to prepare to leave the Russian market, with a new state-controlled messaging app, MAX, preparing to fill the gap.
Ruassian dominance on the whole issue
In a report published on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said Russia’s government was increasing its technological capacities and control over the country’s internet infrastructure, allowing for more widespread blocking and throttling of unwanted websites and censorship circumvention tools. “For years, Russian authorities have been meticulously expanding their legal and technological tools to carve out Russia’s section of the internet into a tightly controlled and isolated forum,” said Anastasiia Kruope, assistant Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Lawmakers have approved a new law that tightens censorship and could have sweeping ramifications for digital privacy, with Russians facing fines if they search online for content Moscow considers “extremist”. Human Rights Watch noted that Russians face higher risks of having their personal data passed on to law enforcement. Russia’s digital development ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Human Rights Watch report.
As Russia aims for digital sovereignty, it is important to get an understanding of exactly what this means. In a general sense, it is defined as a governing body such as a national government’s ability to be able to control the tech stacks and data flows within its boundaries. With that in mind, the data centers situated within the physical boundaries as well as the locally hosted software are bound only by the laws of that country.