Internet Protection Society

The Internet and its freedom are important. For tens of millions of people in Russia, freedom of communication is a fundamental value — even if not everyone understands it yet.

User interests are directly affected by the unprecedented attack on the internet launched by the Russian authorities through their administrative, technological, and censorship organs.

The internet today is on the frontline in the confrontation between common sense and a repressive state machine. So far, the repressive machine is winning. It is only getting worse.

Violations of user rights so distort our customary free network environment that we risk soon being left without the internet we need altogether. The Internet Protection Society (OZI) was created to stop the authorities' attack on the internet using methods of political opposition and political protest. We have united to defend internet freedom and user rights in Russia.

OZI is an organization that fights for Internet freedom using political methods. Our goal is to make internet freedom a subject of general political discussion. To convey the importance of these issues to a wide range of citizens, and to force politicians to answer for them.

We propagate and promote the ideals and values of a free and self-regulating internet. We know that the Internet is designed to solve any of its problems on the principles of self-regulation and does not need control by government bodies. We want to spread this knowledge to as many people as possible.

We conduct public campaigns, organize mass events and campaigns of political pressure, and are engaged in informing and educating citizens. We act peacefully and legally.

OZI is an organization open to cooperation. We support in word and deed the projects of other activists and organizations aimed at achieving our goals.

We want to ensure that the majority of Russian citizens understand that their happiness and well-being depend on the degree of internet freedom. That the development of the economy and civil society without a free internet is impossible in the 21st century. That existing problems can only be solved by self-regulation, not by bans and repressions.