Russian censorship is getting tougher – and Tor needs your help

The Tor Browser is calling for volunteers within the internet community willing to support its fight against tougher Russian censorship.

The team aims to deploy 200 new WebTunnel bridges by the end of December 2024, “to open secure access for users in Russia,” wrote the team in a blog post.

A Tor bridge is a non-public server run by volunteers that helps users bypass censorship and establish a connection to the Tor network.

WebTunnel, the provider explains, is a new type of bridge designed to blend into other web traffic and fly under the radar of censors, avoiding blocks. It does so by mimicking encrypted web traffic (HTTPS) while running over a web server with a valid SSL/TLS certificate.

While the number of active WebTunnel bridges (now 143) has more than doubled since its launch in March, it isn’t yet enough to meet the rising demand within the country.

Tor’s urgent call follows an escalation in Russian censorship efforts targeting access to Tor – including its built-in censorship circumvention features such as obfs4 connections and Snowflake – and other circumventing tools, like some of the best VPN apps on the market.

As per the latest data, nearly 200 VPN services are currently blocked in Russia at the time of writing. Between July and September alone, about 60 VPN apps silently disappeared from the Apple App Store in the country, bringing the total of unavailable applications in the Big Tech giant’s official store to 98.

Running a Tor WebTunnel bridge

Unredacted, a non-profit organization that provides free and open services to bypass censorship and boost privacy online, announced its plans to deploy 10 new WebTunnel bridges only a day after Tor issued its own call for help on November 28.

Tor’s campaign is set to run until March 2025 and calls for even more volunteers to set up and run new Webtunnel bridges. Besides helping people in Russia enjoy a free and secure web, you’ll receive a Tor t-shirt if you decide to run five or more bridges over this period.

Below are the technical requirements to take part in the initiative:

• Run one WebTunnel per IPv4. Multiple subdomains or distinct domains are also accepted.
• Need to include a valid email address as contact information.
• Maintain your bridges active and functional for at least 12 months.
• Ensure your bridges work close to 24/7.
• Don’t host your bridges with Hetzner.

Running a Tor bridge requires some IT skills, but don’t worry – Tor put together a WebTunnel guide to help you with the configuration process.