Roskomsvoboda

What Roskomsvoboda does

Roskomsvoboda is a Russian non-profit digital rights organization founded in 2012 that operates a portfolio of advocacy initiatives, monitoring tools, and educational resources focused on internet freedom and privacy. Its flagship asset is the Rublacklist.net registry — the largest independent public catalog of blocked websites, information disseminators, and news aggregators in Russia — which provides real-time visibility into Roskomnadzor's enforcement actions. The organization's core offerings include TechLab (technical developments division for privacy and anti-censorship tooling), SAFE (digital security educational materials), Cards (simplified legal explainers for complex digital rights topics), BanCam (a public campaign for a moratorium on facial recognition), Pandemic Big Brother (a global surveillance tracker), and recurring event programs including DemHack hackathons (now in its sixth iteration) and the annual Privacy Day conference. Advocacy campaigns such as "The Battle for Tor" and "The Battle for Twitter" provide direct legal representation and collective lawsuits on behalf of affected users.

The organization serves two primary user segments: Russian internet users affected by government surveillance and censorship, and tech-savvy specialists seeking anti-censorship tools. All services are distributed free and self-serve through the roskomsvoboda.org website, with content published bilingually in Russian and English. Roskomsvoboda is funded entirely through public donations and crowdfunding, accepting ruble-denominated recurring and one-time gifts (tiered from 100 to 5,000 rubles and custom amounts) as well as cryptocurrency. On December 23, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated Roskomsvoboda as a foreign agent — a classification the organization is actively contesting in court and which has materially shaped its operating posture.

Name

Roskomsvoboda

Legal name

Roskomsvoboda (Роскомсвобода)

Website

https://roskomsvoboda.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Roskomsvoboda is a Russian non-profit digital rights organization founded in 2012 that operates the Rublacklist registry of blocked sites, delivers privacy and censorship education, and provides legal advocacy for Russian internet users facing government surveillance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Russia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Roskomsvoboda is a Russian non-profit digital rights organization that monitors internet censorship in Russia through its Rublacklist registry of blocked sites, provides legal aid and court representation for digital rights cases, develops privacy-enhancing and anti-censorship technical tools through its TechLab division, and produces educational materials on digital security. The organization advocates against surveillance systems and operates as a public association funded primarily through donations.

Product overview

Roskomsvoboda is a Russian digital rights organization (registered as a foreign agent) that does not operate a unified commercial product but offers a portfolio of advocacy initiatives, monitoring tools, and educational resources focused on internet freedom and privacy. Core offerings include: BanCam (facial recognition moratorium campaign), Cards (simplified legal explainers), TechLab (technical development projects), SAFE (digital security materials), Registry Monitoring via Rublacklist (censorship tracking), and event programs including DemHack hackathons and Privacy Day conferences. The organization also runs advocacy campaigns like The Battle for Tor and The Battle for Twitter, and monitors pandemic-related surveillance through Pandemic Big Brother.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Reestr (Rublacklist): Registry of banned sites and blocked internet resources monitoring system
• TechLab
• SAFE
• DemHack
• Privacy Day

Products and services

• Rublacklist Registry Monitoring Public monitoring tool that tracks the registry of banned sites, information disseminators, news aggregators, and statistics of internet blockings in Russia, providing the largest independent dataset on Russian censorship enforcement.
• TechLab Technical Developments Division Technical developments division of Roskomsvoboda focused on creating digital security tools and technical solutions for digital rights protection and internet freedom expansion.
• SAFE Digital Security Materials Collection of educational materials on digital security designed to increase public awareness of basic human rights including privacy, communications secrecy, freedom of speech, and freedom of belief.
• Cards Educational Platform Simplified informational cards explaining complex digital rights topics such as VPN restrictions, blogger registration, and censorship laws in accessible language for the general public.
• Pandemic Big Brother Surveillance Map Interactive map tracking privacy violations by anti-COVID apps, surveillance of remote workers, pandemic censorship, and other forms of digital rights attacks globally.
• BanCam Facial Recognition Moratorium Campaign Public advocacy campaign calling for a moratorium on the use of facial recognition systems in Russia and raising awareness of biometric surveillance risks.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Leading digital civil liberties nonprofit working on privacy, free expression, and innovation. Directly comparable as a digital rights advocacy organization with strong technical, legal, and educational programs (similar to Roskomsvoboda's TechLab, legal work, and Cards).
• Access Now: Global digital rights nonprofit defending and extending the digital rights of users at risk. Comparable as an advocacy organization focused on internet freedom, privacy, and opposing state censorship — operates in a similar space internationally.
• Privacy International: UK-based charity that challenges state and corporate surveillance. Directly comparable as a privacy advocacy NGO combining research, litigation, and public campaigns — operates the same kind of portfolio model as Roskomsvoboda.
• Article 19: International human rights organization focused on freedom of expression and information globally, including digital rights. Comparable mission and structure — engages in litigation, advocacy, and campaigns against censorship and surveillance.
• Open Rights Group: UK-based digital rights organization campaigning for privacy, free speech, and open internet. Similar advocacy-and-policy operating model, with comparable focus on countering state overreach into digital rights.

Broad incumbents

• Human Rights Watch: Large international human rights organization covering digital rights within broader civil liberties mandate. Less Russia-specific and less technical than Roskomsvoboda, but operates a comparable advocacy-and-reporting model on digital repression globally.

Emerging players

• NetBlocks: Nonprofit that tracks internet shutdowns and censorship incidents globally in near-real-time. Direct technical overlap with Roskomsvoboda's Rublacklist registry — both produce authoritative datasets on network-level censorship.
• Citizen Lab (Munk School, University of Toronto): Interdisciplinary research lab investigating digital surveillance, censorship, and spyware against civil society. Comparable overlap with Roskomsvoboda's censorship-monitoring work (Rublacklist, Pandemic Big Brother) and technical research focus.
• Tor Project: Nonprofit developing anonymity and anti-censorship software (Tor Browser, Tor network). Roskomsvoboda's 'Battle for Tor' campaign directly represents Tor Project interests in Russia — strong technical and mission alignment.

Regional players

• Internet Freedom Foundation (India): Indian digital rights nonprofit advocating for privacy, free expression, and net neutrality. Comparable as a regional digital rights advocacy organization focused on a single national jurisdiction — analogous to Roskomsvoboda's Russia-only mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RosKomSvoboda
• Instagraminstagram.com/roskomsvoboda
• Xx.com/rublacklistnet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roskomsvoboda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Roskomsvoboda