Russia blocks Tutanota

As the OONI Explorer - a tool to demonstrate censorship online - shows, Tutanota is blocked in parts of Russia. Tutanota is also listed in the registry of blocked sites provided by Russian activists.

At Tutanota we focus on providing a secure and confidential communication channel to citizens, but also to journalists and activists.

An act against encryption

Encrypted communication is a thorn in the side to authoritarian governments like Russia as encryption makes it impossible for security services to eavesdrop on their citizens. The current blocking of Tutanota is an act against encryption and confidential communication in Russia.

Tutanota is also being blocked in Egypt since October 2019.

Access via Tor or VPN

People who need secure communication in Russia and Egypt can still access Tutanota by using the Tor browser or a VPN.

We condemn the blocking of Tutanota. It is a form of censorship of Russian citizens who are now deprived of yet another secure communication channel online. At Tutanota we fight for our users’ right to privacy online, also, and particularly, in authoritarian countries such as Russia and Egypt.

Censorship and Freedom of Speech

Censorship online is often used to stop freedom of speech. In many democracies free speech is protected by the constitution. This is the case in Germany and in the USA, for example. In these countries, it is very difficult - if not impossible - for state actors to limit access to information or communication tools online.

In other countries, for example in China, Russia and Egypt, it is common that state actors stop or throttle access to unwanted information or communication tools. Currently, this is the case in Russia and Egypt where Tutanota is not accessible.