🔗 Share this article

As part of a continued campaign to tighten control over online communications, state officials have cut off access to Snapchat and enacted limitations on the Apple FaceTime service, Apple FaceTime.

Stated Justifications for the Restrictions

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor stated that both applications were being used to facilitate and carry out terrorist activities inside Russia, to recruit perpetrators and commit fraud along with other offenses against citizens.

Roskomnadzor stated it enforced the restriction against Snapchat back on the 10th of October, even though the decision was only reported later.

Wider Context of Internet Control

These new restrictions come after similar limitations targeting major platforms such as Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. The campaign of bans escalated following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have pursued deliberate and comprehensive initiatives to curtail the internet. Actions have involved:

• Enacting stringent legislation.
• Blocking digital platforms that do not comply with Russian regulations.
• Perfecting systems to track and influence digital communications.

Other Instances of Crackdowns

Access to the YouTube platform was slowed previously in an incident described as deliberate throttling by the authorities. Russian officials attributed the issue to Google for allegedly neglecting its servers in Russia.

In recent months, authorities tightened online access with extensive outages of cellular data connections. The government insisted this was needed to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks, but analysts contended an additional move to increase control over the internet.

Action Against Communication Platforms

Regulators has also acted against popular messaging platforms. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in recently. Furthermore, authorities banned voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the action by stating the platforms were being involved in crime.

Concurrently, the state have actively promoted a so-called "domestic" messenger app called "Max". Critics view it as a possible tool for oversight. The platform admits it will provide user information with the government upon request, and analysts note it does not use strong encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Analysis

According to cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations views any service where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This classification mandates that platforms establish a presence with the regulator and grant the FSB with entry to user accounts. Those failing to do so are in violation and may be banned.

Seleznev pointed out that potentially many millions of users in Russia had been using FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on other messaging apps. He called the restrictions against the service as "expected" and stated that other sites that do not cooperate with authorities "face blocking – that is clear."

Entertainment Sites Also Targeted

In a related development, the government reported it was blocking Roblox, citing child protection from harmful content. Per data from media monitoring group Mediascope, Roblox was the number two game platform in Russia recently, with approximately 8 million players.

Although it remains possible to circumvent some of these limitations by using VPN services, those are routinely blocked by officials as well.