Russia-related sanctions for online services

As part of the Government’s package of sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on Wednesday 27 April 2022, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs made new regulations restricting the provision of certain internet services to, or for the benefit of, designated persons (the Regulations).

Currently the Secretary of State has named TV-Novosti and Rossiya Segodnya as designated persons for these purposes.

The Regulations came into force on Friday 29 April 2022 and relate to the provision of internet access services, social media services and app stores.

On 4 May 2022, Ofcom published an open letter to industry (PDF, 154.4 KB) addressing the Regulations’ requirements and our role in enforcing them.

If you believe an internet access provider, social media service or app store may have breached the Regulations, we have published advice on what to do.