🔗 Share this article

Amid a continued campaign to increase oversight over online communications, state officials have blocked access to Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's video calling service, FaceTime.

Stated Justifications for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor alleged that these services were employed to organize and conduct terrorist acts inside Russia, to enlist people and engage in fraudulent activities and other crimes against citizens.

The regulator stated it enforced the restriction on Snapchat on October 10, even though the announcement was only reported later.

Broader Context of Online Restrictions

This recent action are part of comparable restrictions against popular services such as Google's YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. The campaign of restrictions intensified following the 2022 military action of Ukraine by Russia.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have engaged in deliberate and multi-pronged efforts to curtail the internet. This has included:

• Passing tough new laws.
• Outlawing digital platforms that refuse to cooperate with Russian regulations.
• Perfecting systems to observe and control online traffic.

Recent Instances of Crackdowns

Service for the YouTube platform was slowed last year in an incident described as targeted interference by regulators. Russian officials attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its servers in Russia.

This summer, officials limited internet access with broad outages of cellular data connections. The government claimed this was needed to thwart drone strikes, but experts contended another step to increase control over the digital landscape.

Action Against Messaging Apps

The government has also acted against widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in recently. Additionally, officials banned calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, defending the ban by stating the two apps were being used for illegal activities.

Simultaneously, authorities have heavily pushed a so-called "national" communication platform called Max. Critics see it as a possible tool for oversight. The service openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request, and experts note it lacks strong encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Analysis

As explained by cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework views any service where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This designation mandates that platforms establish a presence with Roskomnadzor and grant Russia's security service with the ability to monitor user data. Services failing to do so are breaking the law and may be banned.

Seleznev estimated that perhaps a large number of users in Russia had been using FaceTime, especially after restrictions were placed on other messaging apps. He called the restrictions against the Apple service as "expected" and cautioned that other sites that do not cooperate with Roskomnadzor "face blocking – that's obvious."

Entertainment Sites Too Affected

As another development, the government reported it was restricting Roblox, citing child protection from illicit content. According to media monitoring group Mediascope, Roblox was the number two gaming site in Russia last month, with nearly eight million active users.

While it is still feasible to circumvent some of these limitations by using virtual private network services, such tools are also often blocked by the regulator as well.