“Public Services” and “Vkontakte” became available even with a zero and negative balance

Russian users will now retain access to the Gosuslug portal and the Vkontakte social network, even if they have no funds left on their subscriber account. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation (Mintsifry of Russia).

Previously, they were included in the list of socially significant information resources. And now the option “Available Internet” has earned the majority of Russian operators.

To connect to the “Available Internet” you need:

1. Log in to your mobile operator’s app.
2. Select the “Available Internet” option.
3. Log in through the “Gosuslugi” (you need to have a verified account).
4. Select the desired site from the list of socially significant sites.

If this option is enabled, other sites will not be available. You can use the “Available Internet” for 24 hours, and this time can be extended. You can turn off the service earlier – the exact instructions depend on the telecom operators.

At the moment, Accessible Internet works with mobile operators Beeline, MTS, Megafon, Tele2 and Internet providers Rostelecom, ER-Telecom, MGTS, AKADO. It is assumed that in the future all telecom operators providing access to the Internet will connect this service.

The opportunity for free visits to socially significant sites appeared for Russians in 2020, when the Accessible Internet project was launched on behalf of the President as part of an experiment.

A resource can be considered socially significant if there are at least five thousand accounts of state bodies located there and more than five million users visit it every day. Among the mandatory criteria for the social network is the presence of five thousand accounts of government agencies and state media, as well as mandatory public channels (Channel One, Russia-1, NTV, Friday!, TNT and others).